Call Out
by S.A.Lovelace
Summary: Casey's life forever changes when a call comes in the middle of the night, saying that his nephew and niece are in trouble, and he needs to take custody of them. Now Casey must learn how to balance out being a firefighter and a parent. Luckily, he has a whole firehouse behind him.
1. Chapter 1: You Just Gotta Be There

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago Fire or any of its characters. Just the ones I've imagined!**

***This story starts at the beginning of Season 2**

**Call Out**

**Chapter One: You Just Gotta Be There**

When Casey heard his phone ring in the middle of the night, he thought it had to be something to do with work, but to his surprise, the number that flashed up was not one he recognized. The area code was vaguely familiar to him, though. At about the third ring, it clicked that the code was from Indianapolis, where his sister Julia lived with her kids.

"Hello?" Casey answered as he tried to rub away the sleep from his eyes.

An unfamiliar female voice replied, "Hello, this is Joanna Boyd. I am a child advocate and social worker from Indianapolis, Indiana. Is this Matthew Casey?"

The words "child advocate" and "social worker" peaked Casey's attention as he sat up and turned on the light next to him. "Yes, this is. What is this about?"

"I'm calling because I have you listened as next of kin for an Emma Braddock and Luke Casey."

"Yeah, I'm their uncle," he immediately replied. He was scared to hear the answer to his next question. "Are they okay?"

There was a pause that felt like an eternity before she answered, "At the moment their both safe."

That wasn't the answer he was looking for. Safe meant something completely different then okay. He quickly tried to think back to the last time he had spoken with his sister Julia and if she had told him anything that could have hinted at something terrible. Wracking, his brain turned up nothing. She hadn't said anything other than kids were fine. Then again, Julia had never been much of a sharer.

"What do you mean they're both safe?" Casey inquired urgently. "What's happened? And where is Julia?"

He could hear the social worker sigh. "Your sister and her boyfriend are currently in police custody for drug possession and child endangerment. Luke is in our custody." She paused as Casey noticed she hadn't said where Emma was yet. It was a long couple seconds before she said, "Emma is in our custody as well, but she is currently in the hospital."

"What?!" Casey stood up from the bed and began to pace.

He didn't like the way this lady seems to be beating around the bush with the situation. Something terrible had happened and didn't need to be coddled. He needed to know so he could figure out a plan of action.

"At some point earlier this evening," she began. "The police were called to your sister's apartment. Several neighbors heard yelling and a child screaming. Once police got there, they found your sister passed out from what they believe was heroin, but the screaming was coming from Emma. From what we can tell your sister's boyfriend, Emma's father pushed Emma into the kitchen counter after an argument."

Casey's heart dropped. Emma was only ten years old and tiny. Her father, Kyle Braddock, was a low life, but somehow Julia could never find the self-worth to leave him. For the most part, he had lost touch with his sister since Kyle moved the family to Indianapolis a couple of years ago, but he had always known Kyle to have a violent temper. Matt had found that out firsthand when the punk had punched him in the face.

Casey reluctantly asked his next question, "How bad are her injuries?"

"She has a concussion and some stitches, but the Doctor has assured me that she should be fine. She hasn't spoken since the incident, but that's to be expected with a trauma like this."

Letting out the breath he had been holding, Casey knew it could have been so much worse. Then a new question came to him about the status of his fourteen-year-old nephew. "And Luke? How's he handling this?"

"Luckily, it appears Luke wasn't at home when the incident happened," she informed. "He was quite distressed when he was informed but seems to be coping well enough. We haven't been able to get him to leave his sister's side. For now, we're going to let him stay with her. They've both been through enough."

With all his immediate questions answered, Casey moved into action and started to dress. "It'll take me about three hours to get there, but I'm leaving now."

"Good, I'll let the children know you are coming," the social worker replied. "They're at St. Helen's Hospital. We'll talk more when you get here."

Casey ended the call and continued to get ready. Sending a quick text to the Chief that he had a family emergency and wouldn't be in for the next shift but would call with an explanation later. After that, he got into his truck and started the three-hour drive to Indianapolis.

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Two and a half hours later, Casey walked into St. Helen's Hospital, where he was directed to the pediatric floor. Once in the elevator, he hit the five-button and tried to calm himself. The ride there had been tense and in such deep thought that he could hardly remember the drive. He had first thought about how angry he was at his sister for putting her kids in this dangerous situation. Julia had a drug problem as a teenager but got clean as soon as she discovered she was pregnant with Luke. Having Luke was probably what saved her life. Being a single mom and working kept her out for trouble, even after their father was murdered by their mother.

That was until she met Kyle Braddock. Casey could sense trouble a mile away with him, but his sister was head over heels in love with him. The more he pushed, the more Julia clung to Kyle. The only thing good to ever come out of their relationship was Emma, and now those kids were paying the price for their mother's choices.

He had no idea what state his niece and nephew were going to be in when he saw them. Plus, he still had so many unanswered questions about what happened. Firstly though, he knew he needed to see Luke and Emma.

The elevator's ding broke him from his thoughts. He got off and went straight to the main desk.

Leaning heavily on the counter, he asked the nurse, "I'm looking for Emma Braddock's room. I'm Matthew Casey, her Uncle."

The nurse seemed to recognize the name and gave him a sympathetic smile. "Yes, her social worker told me you were coming. I'll page her Doctor, and she'll take you to her." She picked up the phone and spoke softly to someone before relaying that the Doctor would be right out.

He thanked her and stepped away from the desk. It was late at night, so there were only a couple of others that Casey guessed were parents around. He figured he wasn't the only one that wished the situations that brought them here tonight never happened.

"Mr. Casey?" He turned to see a woman about his age in blue scrubs and a white doctor's coat. She smiled and held out her hand, which he shook as she continued, "I'm Dr. Macey. I've been treating Emma since she arrived."

"How is she?" The question came rushing out of his mouth. He didn't mean to be rude, but he was desperate for some kind of update.

She put her hands into the pockets of her coat and started, "She's doing well considering. Her injuries could have been a lot worse, considering how hard we think she was pushed. She has some stitches on the side of her head where her head hit the counter, but the worst of it is the 2nd-grade concussion."

A concussion was a term that Casey was familiar with considering his job, but he wasn't sure what that meant for a child. He wished for a moment Gabby was there to help translate some of this. Since she wasn't, he had to ask, "A 2nd-grade concussion means what exactly?"

"It means that we think she lost consciousness. We can't be positive since it was about an hour before the paramedics got to her, but in their notes, they said she was in and out of it when they arrived." She paused for a moment and looked Casey in the eye sympathetically. "When she arrived at the ER, we noted that her pupils were a bit sluggish and had difficulty concentrating. Unfortunately, since she hasn't been communicating with us, we haven't been able to assess her further or know how much pain she's in. We would have done a CT scan now, but we decided to wait until her anxiety lessened."

Remembering the social workers comment about Emma not speaking, Casey grew more concerned. Emma was known to be a shy kid, but she respected authority enough to do as she was asked. It would be a tragedy if this broke her trust in adults in the long term. Casey suspected that this would be the case for his niece's mental health.

As he processed this new reality, the Doctor continued, "We've had a child psychologist come down to see her, but it only seemed to heighten her anxiety. Her brother has also tried for us."

He saw where she was going with this. "I try to see if I can get her to talk about what happened when I see her."

Dr. Macey smiled, "Very good, now I'm sure you have been impatient to see them." And she gestured for him to follow her down one of the halls.

They stopped outside room 523, and the Doctor spoke, "I'll give you some time with them. I'll be back around in about an hour to check on her." She then paused briefly before adding, "We do need her to start talking. Head injuries are serious if not treated properly."

Casey nodded that he understood and started towards the room, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to see. He needed to be there to comfort them and reassure that everything would be all right. He had to hide his anger at the situation. They had seen enough anger adults tonight.

Luke was the first one he saw. He was sitting at the end of the hospital bed and whispering to his sister about something. Luke was older by four years and had always been protective of his sister. Casey had been there when Julia told Luke he was going to be a big brother. The little boy nearly bounced out of his chair as he listed all that he would teach his younger sibling. The kid had never liked being alone, and having a sibling remedied that. Casey also remembered the first time Luke had been allowed to hold Emma. He had refused to give her back to the nurse stating that he could take care of her. He was her protector.

Standing just outside the doorway, Casey could see Emma in full view. The little girl was dwarfed by the hospital bed. From this distance, he could make out the early stages of a bruise on the right side of her face with stitches next to it. He also noted that she was lying in her side, staring at the wall. She hadn't made any gesture to show she was aware that her brother was speaking to her. Her light blue eyes had a vacant look in them like she was in a trance. It was eerie for Casey to see her like this.

"Uncle Matt!" Luke called out as he noticed him standing at the door. He got up and embraced his Uncle fiercely.

As he hugged him back, Casey could feel the tension in his nephew's muscles and held him a little tighter. "Hey, buddy."

"I'm so glad you're here," Luke responded as he pulled out of the embrace turning his head to wipe the moister from his eyes.

Casey could hear the quiver in his voice and could see redness in his eyes. Seeing his sister hurt and knowing there was nothing he could do about it was probably eating away. Casey made a note to speak with the teenager later.

He then turned to the little girl in the bed. "Emma?" he said, hoping she would respond, but to his distress, she stayed quiet and focused on the far wall.

"Emma? It's Uncle Matt, sweetheart," Casey repeated as his forehead furrowed. Still, there was no response from the bed. Turning back to Luke, he asked, "Has she said anything to you?"

He shrugged and crossed his arms tightly. "She cried a lot when I first saw her, but nothing since we got to the hospital. I've been trying, but—"

Casey reached out as soon as he heard the break-in Luke's voice and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm here now, and I'll take care of it." He said with as much confidence as he could.

Looking from his nephew to his niece, he knew the only way to get either kid to talk was to separate them. Casey then requested, "Why don't you go get some air and give me a moment with Emma?"

"I don't think—"

But Casey interrupted, "I got this, so go take a break." There was still hesitation from his nephew, so he added, "She'll be fine."

With one last glance at his sister, he nodded and left the room.

Sitting at the hospital bedside, Casey took one of his niece's hands in his and began, "I know you're scared, sweetie, and I'll be honest this whole situation scares me too, but I need you to start talking to me."

For the first time since walking into the room, Emma's eyes glanced up at him. At least he knew he had her attention now. "I'm here now. You're safe."

Emma's eyes became glassy with tears as she finally managed to choke out, "He was so mad."

Casey's mouth dropped open at the pure misery in his niece's voice. For a couple of moments, he was at a loss for words and did the only thing he knew would instantly comfort her.

He pulled her into his side with one of his arms wrapping around her small frame, and the other he combed soothingly through her dark hair. As she choked out another sob, he calmed, "Shhhh, what happened, sweetheart?"

She managed to get out, "I made him angry, and he pushed me. I didn't mean to. I was just hungry."

"What do you mean you were hungry?"

Emma looked up at him hesitantly. Casey could tell she didn't want to get her parents in any more trouble.

"It's all right," he encouraged as he brushed some of her hair away from her face. "You can tell me anything."

"They came home early, Luke wasn't home from practice yet, and Mommy had fallen asleep on the couch like she always does. I hadn't eaten all day, and I just wanted to make a sandwich," Emma squeaked out all in one breath before sucking in a second breath to continue. "Daddy is always telling me to stay out of the kitchen because that's where all his important stuff is. I messed up some of it while I was there. I tried to put it back, but he caught me. He was so mad."

Casey could feel her start to shake as she broke down, crying again, and he pulled her close to his chest. He had even more questions now but knew that Emma needed to calm down.

Still keeping her close, Casey tried to soothe her. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, but I won't ever let him hurt you again. I promise, okay?"

He felt her nod slightly. "I've missed you, Uncle Matt."

"Missed you too, sweetheart," he replied with a slight smile on his face. He allowed himself a few minutes to hold his niece before releasing her to look her in the eye. "Listen, I know you're scared, and you have every right to be, but shutting down and not talking to anyone isn't going to help."

"I know," she said quietly, leaning back against the bed. Her bright blue eyes that looked up were made even more vibrant against the redness from crying. "It's just talking always just gets me into trouble."

The fear in the little girl's last statement is what finally broke Casey's resolve. Unlike her brother Emma was the quiet one. She was always observing everything happening around her. Now, he could see there might have been a more significant reason behind this trait.

"Emma, you will never be in trouble with me for anything you tell me." He waited for her to nod before continuing, "The Doctor said she would be back to see you soon, and I'm sure they'll have to run more tests with you. Why don't you try to rest until then?"

She nodded and leaned back into the pillows. She then studied the room she was in like she was seeing it for the first time. "Where'd Luke go?" she asked worriedly.

"He just stepped out so I could talk to you. I'll go find him, okay?"

"Promise you'll come right back?"

He stood up from the bed and kissed her on the head. "Of course."

Once he made sure she was comfortable in the bed, he made his way out into the hall where, unsurprisingly, his nephew, was waiting outside the door. The two Casey's looked at each other before the older reached out and grasped the younger's shoulder.

Luke had never been the kid who wanted to be hugged or touched when being comforted, but Casey could tell by the tension in his shoulders and face that Luke was only just holding it all together. Casey knew that the kid needed to break to process the situation, so without hesitation, he moved his hand on his shoulder to wrap his arm around him and pulled him close. It surprised him when Luke didn't try to break out of the embrace but started to cry.

"I…I should have been…been there," he sobbed, wrapping his arms around his Uncle.

Casey pulled hugged him tighter, noticing that he had grown a couple of inches since the last time he'd seen his nephew. The young boy he had known was now fourteen, but at this moment, he was still a scared kid.

Letting him cry for a moment, Casey pulled back and looked Luke in the eyes. "Hey, this is not your fault. Nothing that happened tonight is."

But Luke just shook his head. "I was late getting home. Practice ran late, and I thought she'd be fine since Mom and Kyle don't usually get home until after midnight. I would have made sure to be home if I had known."

"But you couldn't have known," Casey tried to get through to him. "Trust me, I get it. You're the big brother and feel responsible for her, but you're still a kid too. This is on Kyle and your mom."

Luke tried to wipe away the tears from his eyes and nodded. "The police arrested them."

"Yeah, I know," Casey said. "The social worker told me."

"Please, Uncle Matt, you can't let us go back to them." Luke pleaded.

"I have no intention of letting that happen, so why don't we go back in with your sister?"

Luke agreed and went back into Emma's room, reclaiming his spot on her bed. Casey sat in the chair next to her bed and started asking questions unrelated to the current situation. Both kids seemed to perk up when asked about school and their extracurricular activities. Luke's hockey season had just started, and Emma had mastered a new Chopin song on the piano. Casey smiled and listened to them, but in the back of his mind, he hoped this was as bad as it ever would be for them. They were amazing kids and deserved better.

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Casey and the kids talk until the Doctor came back in to check on Emma.

"Hey, look who's talking?" Dr. Macey smiled at Emma, who shied away and hid part of her face behind Luke's shoulder. "How's your head feeling?"

Emma glanced at her Uncle, who nodded at her to answer. "It hurts."

Dr. Macey took out a penlight and checked the little girl's pupil response while saying, "I'm sorry to hear that. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worse pain ever, how bad is it?"

Emma looked again at Casey before responding, "Nine."

Putting the pen away, the Doctor said, "Okay, I see about getting you something to help with that. Do you feel nauseous or dizzy at all?"

"A little."

Dr. Macey smiled kindly once again at the little girl. "The medicine should help with that as well." She then turned to Casey and said, "I'd like to take her to get a CT scan. Her pupil reactions are still a bit slow, and I would like to be thorough with the other symptoms. A head injury isn't something to take lightly."

The way the Doctor spoke to him, it dawned on Casey that these decisions were now his responsibility. Shoving any uncertainty to the back of his mind, he replied, "Okay, how long will that take?"

"I checked, and there's an opening with CT now. It should probably take about an hour to an hour and a half."

Casey nodded as the Doctor called in some nurses to help move Emma. She didn't like the sudden activity and the aspect of being separated from her brother or Uncle and latched on tight to Casey's hand.

"Hey, it's all right. They just need to make sure your head's okay." Casey gripped her hand tighter and added, "We'll be right here when you get back, and then we'll see about maybe getting you some ice cream. Any flavor you want."

She smiled slightly and nodded. Both Casey and Luke kissed her on top of her head before the nurses wheeled her bed out. Luke went and sat on the small couch in the room and let out a long breath. Casey could see his eyes were drooping.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep, buddy? You look exhausted," he suggested. "I need to step out to answer some messages." Casey could feel his phone vibrating on and off for the past hour.

Luke, being too tired to argue, pulled his legs up onto the couch and shut his eyes.

"I'll be right done the hall if you need me."

Once down the hall, he saw he had messages from the Chief, Gabby, and his other sister Christie. Christie was worried about the kids, but he could tell she didn't want to be involved with the situation. Christie and Julia had never gotten along, even as adults. He was pretty sure they hadn't spoken to each other since their father's funeral.

From behind him, he heard clicking shoes against the floor. Casey turned and was met by a nicely dressed, middle-aged woman. Her expression was stern but kind.

"Mr. Casey?" she asked, holding out her hand and looking him up and down, sizing him up. "I'm Joanna Boyd, the children's caseworker. We spoke on the phone."

Casey reached out and shook her hand. "Yes."

She smiled sadly. "Why don't we step over here?" She motioned to a small, empty side room.

They entered a dull looking room that had only a table and three chairs around it. Casey immediately recognized it as the room people were taken to when there is bad news. How much more bad news could there be? He thought.

She motioned to the chair across from her, and once they were both seated, she pulled out a folder from her bag and opened it before beginning, "I heard from Emma's nurse that you got her to talk."

Casey nodded to show he was listening but just wanted her to get to the point.

"Firstly, I've spoken to the police about the status of your sister and Mr. Braddock. Both are still in jail but will probably be going before the judge tomorrow afternoon. Both are being charged with child endangerment, abuse of a minor, and possession."

Casey wanted to feel remorse and defend his sister as he had in the past when Julia had gotten into trouble, but this time was different. This time the children had been hurt because of her actions. Maybe this could be her wake up call to what Kyle is… no good.

He crossed his arms. "Please tell me they're not going to get custody back if they get bail?"

Reassuringly, she responded with, "No, it has been made pretty clear in my research that their home is an unsafe environment for Luke and Emma. Plus, considering the charges they face, even if they take a plea deal, they're both looking at least ninety days in jail."

It was easy for him to see where she was going with this, and without a second thought, he stated, "I'm more than willing to take custody of Luke and Emma for however long is needed."

"Yes, Julia does have you down as the kid's guardian in her records. It relieves me that I don't have to put those two sweet kids into foster care tomorrow," she seemed genuine with her response. "Other than some paperwork you'll need to fill out, they'll both be transferred to your custody when Emma is released."

Letting his shoulders relax a little, Casey felt he could breathe a little easier. Of course, the thought of now being fully responsible for his nephew and niece did terrify him, but he made sure to shove that fear far away. His concerns weren't what was important now. Emma and Luke were. He was sure this situation with Kyle wasn't a one-time occurrence. He'd do anything to protect those two.

"Is there anything else I should be aware of?" He was ready to end this conversation and see the kids.

Mrs. Boyd glanced at her file and answered, "Since Luke and Emma are children with a background of abuse in the home, social services will be conducting some home visits with you. Not that we think you're unfit, but just to make sure their adjusting. This caseworker will also be their children advocate in court."

He nodded in agreement. That seemed fair considering the situation. "What about when my sister gets out of jail? What happens to them, then?"

"We will reevaluate the case when they do, but until then, you are their guardian."

Closing the file, Mrs. Boyd placed it back in her bag and stood up along with Casey. "I'll make sure to get these files to the Chicago CPS by morning, and the caseworker should be in contact within the next week. I do truly wish the children and you the best. Good luck."

At least, for now, Kyle could get near them, so Casey held on to that. As he thanked the social worker and left the room, he thought about what he had to do next: make sure Emma is going to recover, get them ready to move back to Chicago, and pay Julia a visit in jail.

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Emma had gotten back from CT about an hour later while Luke was still asleep. The tests had worn her out because she was sleeping as well. Dr. Macey told him Emma definitely had a 2nd-grade concussion, but, luckily, they couldn't spot any bleeding in the brain. The worst of it was that she might experience symptoms like dizziness, headaches, and sensitivity to light and sound. They were going to keep her another day to get in one more CT to be sure. After that, they were cleared to leave for Chicago.

Once Casey was sure his nephew and niece were out for the night (well, now it was early morning), Casey left word with the nurses that he had to run an errand. He hoped to get back before either kid realized he was gone.

As he pulled up outside the jail, Casey's phone began to buzz. The caller ID read 'Dawson.'

Needing to hear a friendly voice, he answered, "Hey."

"Hey, I got your message, but I just want to call to make sure you are all right." Her voice came through the phone.

He let out a long breath. "Yeah, I'm good. It's just been a long night, and it's not over yet."

"I can imagine." She didn't sound like she was convinced but moved on with the conversation. He had already messaged her about the situation with Luke and Emma. "When are you getting back to Chicago?"

"Doctor said she'll release Emma tomorrow morning. Once we get their stuff packed, we should be in the city by noon." It then occurred to him the whole list of things he'd have to do once they got to Chicago, like getting their rooms set up and enrolling them in school.

But he should have realized Gabby would be on top of it. "If you send me a list, me and some of the guys could pick up what you need. I still have that spare key."

While Casey was still unsure about where his relationship with Gabby was going, he was grateful for their friendship. "That would be a big help. I'll get that list to you soon. I'm actually about to go into the jail to see Julia."

"Right, just keep us in the loop. We all got your back with this."

"Thanks, Gabby."

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After his mother was paroled from prison, Casey thought he was done visiting family members in jail, yet here he was again. He sat in the familiar family greeting area with plain white walls and cold steel tables as he waited for his sister. He wasn't sure how he would react to seeing her but knew he had to be the kid's Uncle first and a sibling second.

Hearing the door buzz, Matt looked up and saw several women escorted through to their visitors. The fifth person that walked in caught his attention because she vaguely resembled his sister. As she spotted him and looked down at the ground, he realized that it was Julia, but not the Julia he remembered. She had lost a lot of weight, and her skin was pale except for the dark circles under her eyes. Her blond hair was greasy and poorly pulled up back from her face. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around herself, and her posture was slumped. This was a very different Julia than the one that left Chicago with Kyle four years ago.

"Hi, Matt," she spoke as she slid into the seat across from him.

He meant to greet her back, but the words left him. While he was still angry at her for what had happened, he began to realize the true extent of the problem his family was currently facing. His brotherly instinct was kicking in.

"Hey, Jules," he responded. There was a long silence between the two before Matt began, "What the hell happened?"

Instead of answering, Julia's eyes welled up with tears as she began to rant, "Is Emma all right? The paramedics wouldn't tell me anything, and the police just pulled me out of there with Kyle. And Luke! I haven't seen him at all. Please, tell me the kids are okay?"

Matt sighed. He could see where Emma got her tendency to go into hysterics. "Yes, they're all right. Emma has a concussion and will have to stay in the hospital another day, but the doctors are sure she'll be fine. And Luke, well, he's putting on a strong front for his sister."

She smiled a little, "He's always being to be the tough guy. Much like his Uncle."

"Julia, this is serious. You are facing drug and child endangerment charges."

"I know, I know. I've already talked to my court-appointed attorney. He says if I take a plea deal, I'm still looking at ninety days in jail." She paused before adding. "He also said they're offering a similar deal to Kyle."

"Well, he deserves a lot worse," he scoffed.

"He didn't mean to push her. He had just had a long day, and he's not always aware of—"

"God, are you defending him?!" Casey cut her off. It was the same excuse she had been giving him for years. "The guy who has brought drugs back into your life and a low life who's just put your daughter in the hospital. Kyle is the reason both of your kids are being taken away from you."

She blinked in surprise at his last statement. "Wait, what? Whose taking them away from me? I'm still their mother."

"You do realize you've been arrested, right?" Casey replied as he clenched his hands into fists on the table. "Did you think they'd just be waiting for you at the apartment for ninety days?"

"No," she responded like she was being insulted. "But they are my children."

Casey clinched his fist tighter as he tried to rein in his frustration. Pausing a moment, he took a deep breath and said, "Julia, social services have taken the kids away and placed them in my custody. I've already spoken with the social worker assigned to their case. They're coming back with me to Chicago."

"B…But I get them back when I get out, right?"

"That hasn't been determined yet," he responded, his voice full of pity. "The social worker said custody would be determined after you get out."

Julia leaned back with her brow furrowed. He knew this wasn't the news she was hoping for, and if Casey was going, to be honest, he wasn't sure what was going to happen with the custody situation either.

Reaching across the table, Julia gripped his hand and pleaded, "Please take care of them, Matt. I promise it'll be better when I get out, and please tell Luke and Emma that I'll contact them as soon as I can."

Casey wasn't so sure how he felt about that but was too tired to argue. He figured he'd cross the bridge when he got to it.

"Of course, I will," was all he said.

"Thank you," she choked out as tears weld up in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Matt. It'll be such a relief to know that my kids are being looked after. Plus, I know how much they have missed Chicago. I think it was just last week, Luke was saying—"

"But Jules," he interrupted, trying to get her to focus. "While you're in here, you need to get your head on straight. I mean it. You need to get clean up from the drugs, get a real job lined up, and you can't have any more contact with Kyle. Because if you fail to do even one of these things, you will lose Luke and Emma, and I don't just mean custody wise. Understand?"

Julia just replied, "They're my children. I'll do it for them."

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Casey smiled as he heard his niece's laughter from outside her hospital room. He had been gone longer than he had planned but was glad to hear that his absence didn't cause any problems. He found both kids sitting on the hospital bed watching morning cartoons. Luke had an arm wrapped around Emma, and she was resting her had on his shoulder. Despite being engaged with the TV, she still looked like she was exhausted and in pain, but she was smiling, so it was a start.

"Hey, guys," he greeted before holding up the paper bag he was holding. "Guess what I've brought?"

"Ice cream!" Emma cheered as Matt pulled three ice cream cartons from the grocery bag.

Luke chuckled, "For breakfast Uncle Matt?

"Well, just this once," he replied, taking out spoons. "I figure we've all earned it after last night. Let's see if I remembered correctly— Luke is Mackinaw Fudge, and Emma, you are Rocky Road?"

"Wow, I'm surprised you remember that," Luke commented before putting a big spoonful in his mouth.

Casey handed Emma hers while saying, "That shouldn't be a surprise considering every time you stayed with me when you were little, all you wanted to do was get ice cream on the Prier."

Emma looked down at the bowl. "That was the only time we ever got to have ice cream."

Casey's heart dropped at the sorrow in her voice, but instead of acknowledging it, he smiled and cupped her cheek with his palm. "Just eat your ice cream, sweetheart. I got a lot to tell you guys."

"You went to see Mom, didn't you?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I did. She's going to have to stay in jail a while," he explained. "Probably about three months."

"Daddy, too?" Emma interjected as she pulled her legs up close to her body, making herself smaller.

Casey heard the guilt in her voice. Despite everything Kyle had put her through, Emma still had affection for her father. He knew it probably came from a little girl's need to be loved by her father, but Casey knew it wasn't the time to address this or that Kyle might never be in her life again after this. Instead, he replied, "Emma, your parents have done some terrible things, none of which are your guys' fault, but now they have to face the consequences for them. So, for the next couple of months, you guys will stay with me in Chicago."

"We're going back to Chicago?" Luke perked up and got up off the bed. When Casey nodded, he added, "God, we've missed Chicago so much."

Casey let some of the tension in the out of his shoulders at their excitement. Part of him had been worried that they wouldn't want to leave their home here, but by their reactions, they never considered Indianapolis home. He expressed his relief to them. "Well, I'm glad to hear it. I figure we'd leave tomorrow after Emma is released. We can stop by the apartment to get your stuff before."

They both agreed, but quickly shared a nervous look between them. Casey called this their "sibling sense." Despite Luke and Emma's age difference, the two had always had this ability to have silent conversations, leaving all the adults around them confused.

"What is it?" Casey asked as they looked back at him.

Luke spoke up for both. "What happens after Mom and Kyle get out of jail? Do we have to go back?"

"Honestly," their Uncle sighed. "I don't know. We'll deal with it when the time comes, but until then, I don't want you to worry about it. I won't let anything happen to you guys."

"Promise?" Emma asked quietly.

Setting his melting ice cream aside, Casey got up and sat on the bed, putting his arm around her pulling her close. "I promise," he vowed and motioned to Luke, who joined his sister and Uncle in an embrace. None of them were sure of the future, but they knew they would face whatever happened together.

**Hello, my Loves!**

**Thanks for checking out my new story! I'm very excited about what I have planned for Luke and Emma. Check out my Weebly page for sneak peeks and more on this story! **

**Just search salovelace DOT weebly DOT com**


	2. Chapter 2: Old Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago Fire or any of its characters. Just the ones I've imagined!**

**Call Out**

**Chapter Two: Old Home**

As Emma felt herself returning to consciousness from her deep sleep, she noticed the smell of the air and the feel of the sheet covering her were unfamiliar to her. It all was foreign to her. Her chest began to tighten as her heart raced. It wasn't until she heard strange voices that she opened her eyes and shot up in her bed.

"Hey, hey," came a soothing voice from beside her.

Emma looked over to see her uncle sitting in the chair next to her bed. "Uncle Matt?" her voice shook.

Instantly, Casey was out of the chair and embraced his niece. "Hey, it's okay. What wrong?"

As the past fourteen hours caught up to her, the memories of the previous night came back. "I just…" she stopped taking a deep breath and leaning heavily into her uncle's arms. "I just forgot for a moment."

"It'll get easier," he comforted. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head.

Casey moved so that he was sitting on the bed, facing her, and gently cupped her chin so that she had to look at him. "I know from experience that bottling in your feelings only does more harm than good."

Emma knew enough about her uncle to believe that he did understand what she was going through, but everything was changing so fast. She could hardly keep up with it all. "I just can't talk about it now. My head still hurts, and I'm tired too. Plus, I hate hospitals."

Her uncle studied her for a moment before conceding, "Alright, sweetheart, but I'm here when you're ready."

Emma simply nodded as she wanted to move on the conversation. She had no desire to relive the previous night's events. Part of the reason being she still couldn't understand what happened, let alone form them into sentences. Despite her head injury, most of her father's rage was repeatedly playing in her head in a jumbled mess. It was starting to make her headache throb again.

Gently rubbing her head's side, but being careful of her stitches, Emma changed the subject. "Where'd Luke go?"

"I sent him down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast," Casey responded.

"Did the doctor say when I could leave?" she impatiently asked.

Casey smiled at her impatience. "They said later this morning, but that should give us enough time to go by the apartment and pick up your things."

Emma's stomach dropped at the mention of going back to the apartment. She had no desire to return to that place. Casey had already guessed this and added, "Luke and I will go when he gets back. That way, we can leave as soon as you're released."

Emma smiled and let out the breath she had been holding. "I can't wait to see Chicago again."

"Me, too," Luke said, returning to the room and hopping onto his sister's bed. "Chicago has way better take out then Indianapolis. Plus, they take hockey seriously in Chicago. All they care about here is their Hoosier's."

Standing up from the bed and ruffling his nephew's hair, Casey commented, "I'm sure the guys at the firehouse will be happy to hear you're still a Blackhawks fan."

Luke's face lit up at the mention of the firehouse. He had spent many afternoons there as a kid while Julia was at work. Casey had been happy to help his sister since she couldn't afford childcare after school. Luke had been close to the Firehouse 51 family.

"Is everyone still there? What about Kelly Severide?" Luke asked as a smile spread across his face.

Casey laughed at his nephew's childish excitement. "Yeah, he's still there, buddy. We have some new people, but for the most part, everyone is still around."

His excitement deflating slightly, Luke said, "I guess it won't be the same without Andy."

"Or Hallie…" Emma added.

Luke had always been fond of Andy when he hung out at the firehouse. It had been hard for Casey to make that call to Luke to tell him one of his childhood heroes died. But it had been doubly challenging to break the news of Hallie's death to Emma. Hallie was the kind of person who was easy for a little girl to love. Especially when that little girl rarely received any maternal affection from her mother.

Casey hesitated, unsure about how to respond. Both deaths had taken a toll on him, and, on some level, he was still mourning them.

"Yeah, I guess it's been a tough for all of us recently," he conceded, but instead of going into the subjects more, he changed to focus back. Looking at the time on his phone, he spoke, "We should probably be heading over to the apartment here soon."

"How long will you be gone?" Emma inquired as she wrung her hand together.

Casey smiled and placed one of his hands over hers to stop their trembling. "Not long. They should be bringing your breakfast by soon, and the doctor should be by for one final checkup, so by the time you notice we're gone, we'll be back to break you out?" he reassured her.

Luke then piped in, "Yeah, just be thankful that you get to relax here and not carry boxes of stuff down three flights of stairs." He affectionately placed an arm around her, giving her a brief hug and kiss on the forehead.

She giggled and hugged him back. "Okay. Can you make sure to grab all my sheet music?

"No problem, Emmy. Are they all still in the box under your bed?"

"Yeah, and in my backpack. Make sure to get my backpack too."

"Got it. Don't worry," Luke reassured as he released her and walked over to the door.

Casey couldn't help but smile at them. "We'll be back soon," he said to Emma as he kissed her on the forehead as well before following Luke into the hallway.

As soon as their footsteps faded away, Emma pulled her pillow close to chest tightly, wishing they were back already.

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"You good?" Casey asked, noticing Luke's hesitance as they walked up the stairs together.

Luke looked up at Casey and replied, "Yeah, it' just I haven't seen the apartment. The police kept me out in the hall."

Casey frowned, "I'm sure it won't be that bad."

As they reach the third floor, Luke stopped. "Nobody has told me what happened yet. I mean, I know Kyle got angry and pushed Emma, and because of all the screaming, someone called the police, but what happened? Emma hasn't said a word to me about it, and I've always been the person she's told everything to. So, I can't help but imagine for myself what happened and I…"

"You what, buddy?"

"And I hate it!" he said with more anger than fear. "I hate this whole situation. I wasn't there for her when it mattered most. I had always planned out everything so that she would never be home alone with them."

"Hey, hey," Casey said, putting his hands firmly on his nephew's shoulders. "Look at me."

Luke reluctantly looked up at him, the anger making his hazel eyes glow slightly.

"Nothing that happened to your sister is your fault," Casey stated, and when Luke went to argue, he instead continued, "I know you've always seen Emma as your responsibility, but she's not. Blaming yourself for a situation you had no control over isn't going to help anything."

"But I'm her big brother…" Luke whispered. All their lives, it had always been Emma and him against whatever their harsh world threw at them. He truly believed he had failed as her brother.

"Luke," Casey said, regaining his attention from the pit he was digging himself into. "Nothing you did or didn't do is the reason Emma ended up in the hospital. As horrible as it is, maybe something like this needed to happen so that you could finally getaway."

Luke sucked in a breath and held it in for a moment. He didn't want to cry in the middle of a public hallway. When he felt more in control, he comprehended more what his uncle was saying.

"A blessing in disguise?" Luke smirked at Casey. It was a saying that his uncle had used a lot when he was younger. Even before his mother had met Kyle, she could be a little unreliable at times. Whenever she didn't show up to pick him up from Casey, he wouldn't show his frustration, but instead, say it was a blessing in disguise because now they got to spend more time together.

"That's right," Casey reminisced with Luke. "I don't want you to feel like everything is on you anymore. You're still a kid, and I'm here now. Just be a kid."

"You do know I'm fourteen now, right, Uncle Matt? I'm not a kid anymore," Luke joked as he grinned up at him. Most of the anger fading from his eyes.

Casey laughed and tousled his nephew's shaggy blonde hair. "You'll always be a kid to me, you goofball. Now come on."

The two walked together down the hall to the correct apartment. While Luke got out his key and opened the door, Casey took in the apartment complex around them. The beige paint was peeling off the walls and the overworn carpets smell of mildew, so he was somewhat prepared as to what to expect the inside of the apartment to look like, but even then, he wasn't.

Luke opened the door, and they both stepped in. Casey's heart dropped. The walls and carpet were the same here. There were also piles of trash and cans stacked on every surface from the table to the ratty couch. In the air, there was a sickening smell of smoke mixed in with a damp odor. All the furniture looked like they had never been cleaned or dusted, and this was just the living room.

Noticing the look of disgust on his uncle's face, Luke commented, "Yeah, I know. I tried to keep it as clean as possible, but they would always just come back through and mess it up again. Our room isn't this bad, though."

Casey just nodded, not wanting to get too caught up in the state of his nephew and niece's living situation. He just reminded himself that they would never have to spend another night here. "Why don't you go get your guys' stuff packed up best you can. I'll be there in a minute."

Once Luke disappeared down the hall, Casey took in a long, calming breath. He knew he needed to gather some of Julia's things and any essential documents she had. Letting out the sigh, he turned towards the kitchen.

The kitchen matched the rest of the house trashy, dirty, and half the linoleum was missing from the floor. Some cups and dishes filled the sink and counter, along with a wide variety of take-out containers. As bad as it looked, it didn't surprise him, until he noticed something red on the edge of one of the counters and blood-stained towels and gauze left on the floor. He had seen the wound on his niece's head, but seeing the scene where it happened made it even more horrifying to him. He thought about her small body being shoved into that counter, and the long minutes she must have cried in fear and pain on that floor before help arrived.

Knowing this scene would haunt him for the rest of his life, Casey backed out of the kitchen. It was clear what he was looking for wouldn't be in there. He also wanted to make sure Luke didn't see the scene in there.

Casey found Luke in what he assumed was his and Emma's room, pulling out some of his clothes from the closet. "Hey, need any help?" he asked.

"No, there isn't much we care to take with us. I found our old suitcases which should be able to hold our clothes. Our school backpacks should hold everything else. Plus, there's also my hockey bag."

"Alright, I'll go check your mother's room quickly, then I'll help you carry everything out. I don't want to leave Emma alone at the hospital for too long."

It took them less than an hour to find and pack what they wanted to take with them, and Casey made sure to leave a message for the apartment manager about what to do with the rest of the stuff. As they secured everything into the truck's bed, Luke noticed an older woman coming towards them and jogged over to hug her. Confused by his sudden action, Casey walked over to them.

"Oh, dear, I was so sorry to hear what happened," the older lady spoke kindly to Luke. "How is Emma?"

"She says she alright, but you know Emma," Luke responded then noticed that his uncle was approaching them. "This is my uncle, Matt Casey. Uncle Matt, this is Mrs. Roblins, our neighbor. She was the one giving Emma piano lessons after school."

Matt could tell the relationship between the older lady and his nephew and niece went deeper then piano lessons. "It's very nice to meet you," he greeted and shook her hand.

Mrs. Roblins seemed to look at him closely like she was sizing him up. After a couple of seconds, she smiled warmly at him. "Yes, I can see the resemblance. Are you looking after the children while their mother is away?"

Luke answered, "We're going to live with him in Chicago."

"Well, that sounds wonderful," she beamed at him. "A fresh start will do you both some good. You just promise to let me know how you and Emma are occasionally. I'll miss our Sunday dinners together and let your sister know I expect big things from her a concert pianist, understood? I've put way too much time and effort into her lesson for her to just give up."

"Yes, ma'am," Luke agreed. He gave Mrs. Roblins one more hug before both Casey turned back to the truck.

"Mr. Casey?" she called suddenly. "Might I have a quick word?"

Casey was surprised by this and told Luke to get into the truck.

Once she saw he had her attention, she explained, "I can tell just by looking at you that you are more put together then your sister. I've had to watch what she and her boyfriend put those too sweet children through, and it made me sick."

Unsure about where she was going with this, Casey just nodded and waited for her to continue.

Giving him a fierce look right in the eye, she said, "Give them a good life. After everything I've seen those two go through, they deserve a lot better."

"Yes, yes, they do," Casey agreed. "And I plan on giving them just that."

**HELLO, My Loves!**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I promise the next section introduces everyone from Firehouse 51. I originally had this chapter and next chapter as one, but with the overwhelmingly positive response this story has received, I didn't want to make you guys wait too long. I'm halfway done with the next chapter, so stay tuned!**

**Also! Check out my Weebly page for more like who I pictured as Mrs. Roblins (Star Trek fans will love it!)! I've just posted a more in-depth profile on Luke. Only a little extra background information as a treat for those you check out my Weebly site. I'll also be posting a sneak peek of chapter 3 soon!**

**Please comment, favorite, and follow!**

**So please, until next time, My Loves!**


	3. Chapter 3: New Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago Fire or any of its characters. Just the ones I've imagined!**

**Call Out**

**Chapter Three: New Home**

"Just remember, she will probably experience longer-lasting symptoms," Dr. Macey explained as Casey sighed Emma's release forms. "It'll be normal for her to have some mild headaches, possibly irritability, or vision issues. Just make sure she gets lots of rest, and if the symptoms aren't going away in the next couple weeks, set up an appointment with a pediatric doctor."

Finishing off the last signature, Casey asked, "What about the stitches and bruising?"

"The stitches should dissolve on their own in about a week. Just place some butterfly bandages over the cut if it hasn't fully close. Bruising should fade away in about a week as well."

Casey nodded and made sure to make a mental note about this information. "Thank you," he simply replied to the kind doctor.

"No thanks need Mr. Casey," she kindly waved him off. "I'm just happy this patient's story has a happy ending. I've seen too many that don't. Good luck with everything." Dr. Macey shook his hand and continued down the hall.

He handed the sheets back to the nurse at the desk. She looked over the paperwork and said another nurse would be along shortly with a wheelchair for Emma to take her to the car.

Back in the room, Luke was sitting on the side of the bed looking at his phone, but he didn't see Emma.

"Where's your sister?" Casey asked.

"In the bathroom changing," he replied, glancing up. "She's so impatient to leave that she refused to wait for the nurse who said she'd be back to help her. She claimed she was fine to do it on her own."

Casey chuckled, while Emma was easier going than her brother, she was stubborn when she wanted to be. In those cases, there was no reasoning with her.

"Well, they're sending up a nurse to walk us out now," Casey explained. "So, she'll get her wish soon enough."

The door to the bathroom opened, and Emma walked out. Casey noticed that she had put on one of her brother's old hockey hoodie that was a couple of sizes too big as it fell to her knees. At the apartment, Casey learned that many of Luke and Emma's clothes were from second-hand stores and, in Emma's case, hand-me-downs from her brother. Yet another thing he'd need to take care of.

"Ready to go, sweetheart?" Casey asked as he collected his jacket and phone.

"So ready," she smiled tiredly, walking over to her brother. Luke draped his arm around her as she leaned against him.

A nurse entered the room with a wheelchair and got Emma situated in it before making their way out of the hospital.

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It wasn't until the Chicago skyline appeared in the distance that the kids perked up while they traveled down the Dan Ryan. Casey figured it was a mix of relief that they were finally there and happiness that they had returned to the city they called home.

The usual three-hour trip took them four and a half hours instead. Emma's headache had returned about an hour into the journey, and the motion of the car made her car sick, so they had to stop a couple more times than he had planned. All that seemed to fade away now that they were here.

Once they were in the city, Casey noticed a message on his phone from Boden. The Chief wanted him to call. He was closer to the firehouse then to his house, he asked the kids, "I know you guys probably just want to get to the house and unpack, but would you mind if we made a stop at the firehouse? I got to take care of something."

Luke's face lit up as he responded that it was more than all right to stop by the firehouse. Emma agreed to with a tired nod. Casey knew she was probably exhausted by now, and, unlike Luke, she hadn't spent that much time at the firehouse. New people and environments always heightened her anxiety, but she'd have to meet everyone eventually and prolonging it wouldn't help. The firehouse would probably be their second home.

"It'll be quick, I promise," Casey spoke reassuringly to Emma. She didn't respond.

It was about noon when they pulled up outside the firehouse. Luke was the first one to jump out of the truck. "It's exactly the same," he said excitedly as he helped his sister out.

It was a beautiful late summer day, so the big bay doors were open where they could see that all the engines and ambulance were there. Dawson and Shay were out by the ambo.

"Casey," Dawson called out when she saw them approach. "Hey, guys."

Casey smiled, "Luke, you remember Gabby Dawson, right?"

Dawson took in the Matt Casey mini-me in front of her and said in surprise, "No way, this is Luke? Last time I saw you, you were about two feet shorter."

Luke grinned at this comment. He always wanted to be older than he was. Even as a child, he would always try to act and do things that he saw as more mature. It still surprised Casey when he would succeed too.

"Yup, not a kid anymore, and I'm in high school," he said pridefully as Casey teasingly ruffled his hair.

Dawson smiled kindly at him and look at Emma, who was tight to her uncle's side. She noticed the wound on the side of the little girl's face but didn't draw attention. "And you must be Emma. I'm Gabby. Your uncle talks about you all the time."

Blushing, Emma manages to get out, "Hello." And smiled back at the woman.

Stepping into the conversation, Shay says, "I'm Leslie Shay, but everyone just calls me Shay. We haven't met yet."

The kids smiled and greeted Shay before Dawson asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, Boden needed to talk to me about something," Casey replied. "I figured it'd be easier just to come by. Plus, Luke was eager to see everyone again."

"I think Mills is almost done with lunch, so your timing couldn't be better," Dawson informed as they all headed inside.

The sudden chaos of people was daunting to Emma, but Luke immediately felt a familiar sense of home. The same he had experienced as a child when staying at the firehouse. The feeling that this was a safe and welcoming place. Luke was beginning to realize just how much he had missed it.

"Hey, buddy," Severide called out when he saw them enter the lounge area calling everyone's attention to the visitors that had just arrived. Severide came up and slung an arm around the young man.

Herrmann called out, coming over to the group as well, "Luke Casey in the house! A few more years, we're not going to be able to tell the two Casey's apart."

Luke reacquainted himself with everyone and was more than happy to answer questions. He still loved hockey, hated math, and still had hoped for the Cubs in the World Series. Emma though stayed right next to her uncle. While some of them were familiar to her, all of them were still strangers to her.

Casey spoke, noticing his niece's hesitance, and so did everyone else. Not wanting to spook her more, everyone just introduced themselves to her. Other than Severide, everyone was a stranger to her.

It was Severide who asked her, "You remember me kiddo? You were only about six the last time I saw you."

Studying the dark-haired man in front of her with a curious eye, Emma replied, "You would take us fishing on your boat."

"That's right, you caught the biggest fish out of any of us," Severide smiled at her, and she smiled shyly back.

Casey chuckled to himself that Severide's charm had just one over another girl, but it seemed to work as she finally stepped away from his side.

Mills then stepped over and introduced himself, "Hey, I'm Peter Mills. It's Emma, right?"

"Yeah," she replied to the young man.

Sensing her hesitance, Mills responded with, "Do you like Mexican food?"

Confused, she nodded.

"Well, I'm making chicken tacos of lunch. Would you wanna help me get it ready? I could use all the help I can get with this crew."

Emma wanted too, but it wasn't until Casey nodded to reassure her that she followed Mills into the kitchen. Mills pulled over a chair for Emma to stand on as he started explaining what he was making. Soon he set her up with stirring the chicken while he finished chopping the tomato.

Luke had seated himself at the table with Herrmann, Cruz, and Otis. "Well, when I was on played on the community center's team, I'd switch between defense and left-wing, but when I started practicing with my high school's team this summer, they mostly kept me forward. Course now, I guess I'll have to start over again with a new team at a new school."

"Nah, don't sweat it," Herrmann commented. "You've been playing for years. I'm sure any coach would see your talent as soon as you hit the ice."

"As long as that coach doesn't have your disposition," Otis said under his breath, but loud enough for them to hear.

Curious to what he meant, Luke asked while Herrmann glared at Otis, "What's that mean?"

Cruz answered, "Means that Herrmann here was asked to step down as his son's hockey coach because he was scaring the kids… and parents."

Casey watched as both kids enjoyed the attention they were getting from everyone. He knew it wasn't often that they got to be the center of attention from anyone other than him.

"I can't believe how big they are," Severide said, standing next to his friend.

"I can't believe it either. It feels like just the other day that Luke couldn't climb into the truck on his own," he said as he watched Emma smile at something Mills said, Mouch.

"Casey," Boden said from the doorway. He and Severide looked at him. "Let's talk in my office."

Glancing one more time at his niece and nephew, Casey followed the Chief and Severide to the offices.

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As soon as Severide closed the door to the Chief's office, Casey started, "Chief, about next shift."

Boden held up his hand. "Casey, that's not why I called you in here. You are doing what you need to do for your family. Take the time you need."

Letting out a breath, Casey responded, "Thanks, Chief. I appreciate that."

He knew that the commissioner's office was starting to crack down on people calling off shift on short notice, so for Boden to get him, the time off was no small feat.

"So, what happened?" Severide asked, crossing his arms. The bruise on Emma's face had not gone unnoticed. They all knew that Casey had a family emergency and that Luke and Emma were coming back to Chicago with him to stay.

"My sister Julia and her low life boyfriend Kyle got themselves arrested," he explained, trying to find the best way to describe what happened. "Turns out both have been using again, but that's not why they were arrested. That fact came out after Kyle gave Emma a concussion putting her in the hospital. Social Services gave me custody of them."

"Is this a permanent arrangement?" Severide asked.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Casey replied, "I'm not sure. Nothing has been decided until Julia is released from jail, which most likely won't be for a couple of months, but I have no intention of letting them back into a dangerous environment."

"Well, you've got all of Firehouse 51 behind you no matter what happens," Boden said. "You don't have to go through this alone."

"Thanks, Chief," Casey sighed. He knew he could always rely on everyone at 51, but it was nice to hear it. "Right now, I'm just trying to wrap my head around everything. I mean, forty-eight hours ago I was just the fun uncle, now I'm responsible for them."

"But you've known those two their whole lives. Plus, anyone can clearly see that they want to be here with you," Severide said in support of his friend.

Casey looked from Boden to Severide and knew they both were right.

"Casey, just take it a day at a time," Boden said in the calming way he did when mentored those under him.

The three senior officers returned to the common area and sat down to lunch with everyone else. While Casey ate, he watched as Luke talked with Mills, Cruz, and Otis at the other end of the table. They were telling him about some of the weirder calls they had gone on. He looked more relaxed then Casey had seen him in a while as he joked right along with them. Even Emma, who was usually more reserved towards new people, smiled at whatever Shay had just teased Severide about.

They looked happy, and that helped to settle some of his nerves. Dawson must have noticed this too because he felt her place her hand on his arm. Locking eyes with her, she smiled and nodded reassuringly at him.

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Casey and the kids stayed longer at the firehouse then he intended, but after all the stress of the past couple days, it had been a good distraction for Luke and Emma. Both kids had enjoyed being the center of attention, but when he saw Emma rub the side of her head and start to drift off, he knew it was time to leave. They still had a lot to get done back at his house.

Casey looked over at Emma, who was on couch cuddled up next to Pouch. Emma had always loved animals and had quickly fallen for the firehouse dog. "I'm surprised she lasted this long."

"The concussion is still giving her problems?" Gabby asked.

"The doctor said she'd probably be feeling the effects of it for a couple of weeks at least," Casey said before turning back to nudge Emma. "Ready to go, sweetie?"

She nodded and held up her hands as she used to when she was younger and wanted to be picked up. Giving in to her, Casey hoisted her up into his arms. His heart warmed a little when she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, Casey said, "Come on, let's go find your brother."

"I'll walk out with you guys." Gabby followed them out into the apparatus floor, where they found Luke seated at the Squad table listening attentively to everything the guys were saying.

"Luke," Casey called over. "Time to go, buddy."

Kelly chuckled as Luke huffed and stood up from the table. "Hey, you going to be here so much now, kid, you'll probably get sick of this place."

"Doubt it." Luke smiled at him and followed Matt outside.

Severide laughed to himself about how much of Casey's sarcastic personality Luke had.

After loading the kids back into the truck, Matt stepped aside to speak with Dawson. "I can't thank you enough for picking up the furniture and stuff I needed for them."

"I was a team effort, really," she responded. "I just organized it."

Smiling sweetly at her, he said, "Still, it saved me a lot of time and hassle. It's one less thing I need to worry about."

"We're here for you, Matt. All you have to do is ask for help," Dawson reassured. She had known Matt long enough to know that nothing could stop him when he cared passionately about something. It wasn't too long ago that she had found him in his house after Hallie's murder had been solved. She'd never forget how broken and alone he looked. Maybe having Luke and Emma here would help him as much as he was helping them.

Thanking her one more time, Casey got back into his truck and started for home.

"We can come back again, can't we?" Emma asked, looking hopefully up at her uncle.

"Of course, sweetheart," Casey said, playfully nudging her.

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It didn't take long for Casey and the kids to unpack and set up their stuff. Dawson and everyone from the firehouse had put together most of the new furniture for them, so all they had to do was put everything away. Emma would have the bedroom upstairs next to Casey's, and Luke had claimed the spare room off the kitchen.

By dinner time, both Luke and Emma were exhausted from the past couple of days. Hoping to make them feel more at home, Casey ordered pizza, and the three of them watch a movie while eating. Emma was asleep, snuggled into Casey's side, before the movie ended, and Luke was just starting to dose off. They stayed up later, then Casey had planned, but they didn't have anything significant to do tomorrow. He had decided to wait until Monday to start them in school.

"Alright, bud, it's time for bed," Casey said as the credits rolled, and he turned off the TV.

Luke grunted while slowly rose from the armchair. "Night," started to walk back to his room, but he turned back at the kitchen door. "Uncle Matt?"

"Yeah?" he replied quietly so he would wake Emma.

Looking down at his hands, Luke responded, "Thank you. We haven't had a day like this in a long time."

Casey's heart broke. Part of him was sad at what they had to go through, and another part of him was angry, but he would never express that in front of them. "Of course, but you don't have to thank me. We're family."

"Yeah, but just because someone's family doesn't mean you can always rely on them."

"Well, you can rely on me," Casey promised. "Things are going to be different now."

Luke looked up at him and nodded. "I hope so," and walked back to his room.

Casey worried about how the kids would adjust to living with him. For today, it was easy. Today was just like the days they spent together when they visited. By Monday, they would have to deal with school schedules if they wanted to do extracurriculars, and then there was his work calendar. The twenty-four-hour workday could be a lot for him, let alone Luke and Emma, who weren't used to it. Luckily, Christie finally agreed to get involved in the situation and take the kids on the nights he was on shift. It would take a while, but it would work out. It had too.

The exhaustion getting to him, Casey looked down at his niece. She looked peaceful, and he hated to have to move her, but the only way they'd both get a good night's sleep was if they both were in their beds. As carefully as he could, Casey lifted her and turned off the living room lights before going upstairs.

Emma had changed into her pajamas before they started the movie, so all he had to do was put her to bed. He turned off the desk lamp and turned to leave the room.

"Uncle Matt?" a soft voice called out from the bed.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Emma hesitantly asked, "Can you leave the hallway light on?"

Casey could see some residual fear in his niece's eyes. She had asked like she was afraid he'd be angry with her. He reassured, "Of course, whatever you need."

She gave him a relieved smile and relaxed back into her mountain of pillows and blankets.

Before leaving the room, he added, "I'm right across the hall if you need me."

"Okay," she whispered, "Love you, Uncle Matt."

"Love you, too, sweetheart," he replied before walking out of the room but making sure to leave the door ajar.

**Hello, My Loves!**

**Sorry for the wait for this chapter. I struggled for a long time writing the Firehouse 51 characters. I love them so much and wanted to make sure to do them justice. Also, the response I've had to this story has been amazing! Thank you all so much for following, favoriting, and reviewing! Hearing from you all gives me the drive to keep writing. **

**Check out my Weebly page for extras including some exclusive information about Luke and Emma's background with Firehouse 51 before the start of the story, a sneak peek at the next chapter which should be posted in the next couple days, and, also, look for a new character profile about Emma (Luke's is already published).**

**Until next time…**


	4. Chapter 4: Promise You, Promise Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago Fire or any of its characters. Just the ones I've imagined!**

**Call Out**

**Chapter Three: Promise You, Promise Me **

**(Events take place during S2 E2 "Prove It")**

"Luke? Are you awake?" Emma called quietly from her brother's bedroom doorway.

With a sigh, he rolled over and looked at her. "Well, I am now," he moaned groggily, glancing at the time on his phone. "Emmy, it's past midnight."

"I can't sleep," Emma admitted looking down at the ground.

Laying his head back on his pillow, Luke grumbled, "So, you decided to wake me up? We have school in the morning."

"That's why I can't sleep."

Luke knew his only hope of going back to sleep was to deal with whatever was bothering his sister. He could tell by the tone of her voice that something was upsetting her, and she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep until she got it off her chest.

"Alright, come here," he sighed, sitting up and as she climbed up onto his bed with him. Luke then asked, "What's bothering you so much that you can't sleep?"

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, Emma began, "Are you nervous to start at a new school?"

"Yeah, a little," he shrugged. "Why? Are you nervous?"

Her only response was a couple quick nods.

"Why, though?" he said, wanting to understand where this sudden anxiety for school was coming from. She had seemed fine when talking to Uncle Matt about it.

Unconsciously, she rubbed the area around the bruise with the back of her hand. Luke sighed, realizing where this was coming from.

"Oh, it's the bruise, isn't it?" he said. Emma didn't respond, and Luke sighed. His sister was always quiet around other people, but never with him unless something was really bothering her. If he didn't get her to talk soon, she would bottle it all in until it affected her anxiety. "Emma Ruth, answer me, please."

"Yeah, I guess that's some of it," she finally answered as she picked at a loose thread on his comforter. "It's hard enough being the new kid, but to be the new kid and have a noticeable bruise on your face. Everyone's just going to assume everything before I can even introduce myself, and the ones that do talk to me will ask. I don't want to lie, but I also don't want to be that kid anymore."

Luke knew what she was referring to. At their last school, it was well known what their parents were like and what they did, especially after a particular event when their Mom showed up drunk to one of his games and started harassing the other parents.

"I'm worried about that, too," he relayed to her. "But the good thing about being here is that we can tell as much or as little as we want, and Mom and Kyle are not here to ruin it. All you got to say is that you were in an accident and that we live with our Uncle. No one's got to know the two things are related." Seeing that she still wasn't convinced, he added, "Plus, if anyone gives you a hard time about it, you got your cool big brother to set them straight."

Emma made a snorting noise that she would do when trying not to laugh at his cheesy humor. "You wish, Luke." She finally smiled and said, "Thanks for the pep talk."

"Anytime, little sister. Now can I please go back to sleep?"

"Can I stay with you?" she asked hesitantly.

Not being able to say no to her when she was upset, he nodded and pulled back the blanket. Crawling in next to him, Emma snuggled in. He watched her fall asleep before he went back to sleep as well.

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"Luke!" Casey called up the stairs. "You got five more minutes before it's your sister's turn in the bathroom."

Casey had been naive enough to think getting two kids up, ready, and fed for school would be easy. Both kids were slow-moving this morning. Neither had expressed much interest in starting school so soon after moving to Chicago.

"Emma, stop picking at your food," Casey admonished, setting down a glass of orange juice by her. "You're next in the bathroom as soon as your brother's done."

Pushing the cheerios around in her bowl while resting her head on her hand, Emma grumpily looked up at her Uncle. "Why is it so important that we start today? We've only been here a couple days."

"Because I don't want you to get behind," he said as he poured himself some coffee. "Besides, I'm on shift today and don't want to leave you here alone all day."

Sitting up straight, Emma said, "But we stay home alone all the time."

Casey sighed at the reminder of what their life had been. "Well, that's not how things are going to be here."

"Not like what?" Luke asked, coming into the kitchen and opening the fridge.

"Nothing," Casey said, not wanting to stall the schedule he had going. "Your turn Emma. You have twenty minutes. Go."

Still rummaging around in the fridge, Luke commented, "What are we doing for lunches?"

"Right…lunches," Casey repeated to himself. How could he forget something so basic? He had thought of everything else to get them ready for school… except that. "I think there some deli turkey in here for sandwiches."

As Luke reached in to help, he caused Casey to knock into the beer bottles, and two fell breaking on the floor.

"Oh," Luke said, afraid he had upset his Uncle. "Sorry."

Retrieving a broom, Casey responded, "It's alright." Just then there was a knock on the front door. "I've got this, why don't you see who's at the door?"

Luke bounced out of the room. Casey grabbed a broom and dustpan and started to sweep up the glass. He was trying to repress some of his frustration on how this morning was going. He clearly didn't blame his nephew and niece, but himself. He should have planned more ahead, like with the lunches. Then again, this was all new to him as well. Hopefully, this would get easier.

"Look who came by," Luke exclaimed as he came back into the kitchen.

Much to Casey's surprise and relief, Gabby walked in behind Luke.

"Hey, guys," she smiled before noticing the beer and glass still on the floor. "Rough start this morning?"

Casey could help but smile a little. "You could say that," he commented before rechecking the time. "Why don't you go see how your sister is doing."

Luke knew his Uncle just wanted him out of the room but went with it anyways and left the kitchen.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" Casey asked as he deposited the glass in the trash.

"Just came to see how your guys were getting along this morning," she smiled teasingly at him.

"Hey, I've got everything under control." They both glanced down at the puddle of beer still on the floor, and Casey added, "Well, almost. At least as soon as Emma is done, we can leave."

Just as he said it, Luke appeared back in the doorway to the kitchen with a frown on his face. "Emma says she's not going, and she's locked herself in the bathroom."

"What? Why?" Casey stammered.

Luke shrugged, "I think it's the bruise on her face. She must have noticed how much darker it is this morning. She's nervous about the other kids seeing it."

Bracing his arms against the counter, Casey let out a sigh. He really didn't want to show his frustration in front of his already venerable niece but couldn't let her skip the first day. If all else, he had to work.

"Why don't I go talk to her?" Gabby suggested setting her bag down on the table. "And you guys get the lunches together?"

Out of options, Casey nodded, and Gabby went upstairs.

She knocked on the bathroom door. "Emma, it's Gabby. Can I come in?" Waiting a moment, she heard the click of the lock, and she tried the doorknob and was relieved that the door opened.

Stepping into the small room, Gabby observed Emma sitting on the edge of the tub. She was dressed and appeared ready to go, except that her hair hanging down in front of her face was still a mess.

Without saying anything, Gabby kneeled down in front of her and pulled her dark hair away from her face. Sure enough, she saw the bruise on Emma's face was now a deep, dark purple. The stitches she observed still looked fine, so she wasn't concerned about anything seriously wrong with it. It was just in that ugly stage of healing.

"I hadn't seen it since yesterday," Emma mourned. "It looks so bad. Everyone's going to notice and stare."

The pity in her voice broke Gabby's heart. "Oh, honey, that just means it healing. This is normal, and this is as bad as it should get too. I guarantee that it should start fading away after today."

Finally, looking up at Gabby, Emma said, "But Uncle Matt says I have to go to school today."

"He's not saying that to be mean," she explained. "He just knows that the sooner you and your brother are on a consistent schedule, the easier the adjustment to living here will be."

Taking in what Gabby had said Emma still didn't respond, but just hung her head back down. She wanted to do what her Uncle was asking of her, but not like this.

Still sensing her hesitance, Gabby thought quickly of a different solution. "How about you let me do your hair, and I can see if I find a way to hide the bruise with your hair. It's close enough to your hairline that with the right style, no one would see it."

Emma looked up with wide eyes. "You would do that?"

"Of course," she smiled and motioned to the young girl to sit on the bathroom counter. "Now, let's see what we can do."

Still stunned by Gabby's gesture to help, she sat on the counter and let her brush through her hair. No one had ever helped her do her hair before. Not even her mother, at least not any times she could remember.

After brushing through her hair, Gabby braided a section of her hair on the side of her face with the bruise. When Emma turned to look at herself in the mirror, she smiled.

"Well," Gabby said. "Will it do?"

Emma responded, "Yes, thank you for doing this."

"Of course, and if you would like, I can teach you how to do your hair like this?"

The little girl just smiled and gave an eager nod. Gabby helped her down from the counter. "Alright, let's get you off to school."

The two girls headed downstairs where Luke was packing up his book bag, and Casey was pacing but stopped and let out a relieved sigh as he saw his niece coming down the stairs dress and ready for school. He smiled when he saw how Gabby had fixed the problem and mouthed a heartfelt 'thanks' to her.

Helping Emma get her backpack on, Casey ushered the two kids out the door to his truck. Gabby said her goodbyes and that she would see them later.

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"Alright, so after school, you'll come straight to the firehouse, and your Aunt Christie will pick you up after dinner. She will drop you off at school tomorrow, and I will pick you up," Casey ran through the plan one more time. "Make sure to go straight to the firehouse after school."

"No problem there, Uncle Matt," Luke dryly commented, hopping out of the truck and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He held the door open as he waited for Emma to get out.

She hadn't paid attention to anything her Uncle said but was staring out the window at the intimidating brick building. "You promise we'll see you after school?"

Putting his arm on the back of the bench seats, Casey leaned in close to her. "I promise that you see me when you get out of school today. Can you promise me that you will at least give school here a try?"

Emma looked up at her Uncle. There was an intensity in his blue eyes that she knew to mean that he was genuine. Her Uncle had never given her a reason not to trust him, and after everything he was doing for them, at the very least, she could make this a little easier for him.

"I promise," she said.

Casey smiled proudly at her and kissed the top of her head. "Have a great day, sweetheart."

Emma followed her brother out of the truck and across the street to school. After they were out of sight, Casey let out a long sigh and rested his head on the steering wheel. He had survived the first morning. He had successfully gotten them to school with two minutes to spare. It could only get easier from here.

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The crew of 51 was gathering in the common room for breakfast as everyone made their way in for that day's shift. Mills was behind the grill, dishing out the bacon and hash browns from the flattop as everyone lined up.

Getting in chow line behind Casey, Severide picked up a plate and asked, "How'd it go this morning getting Luke and Emma to school?"

With some control frustration, Casey replied, "Well, they got there if that's what you mean."

Severide chuckled faintly. "They still giving you grief about that?"

"Oh, I wish it was just grief. They've taken too adding guilt to the mix as well." Casey smiled at Gabby, who was in front of him in line and added, "Actually, the credit goes to Dawson. Without her, Emma would still be locked in the bathroom, and Luke wouldn't have lunch."

"And they'd probably smell like beer," Gabby teased, and Casey smiled back at her.

Behind Severide, Shay gave her a look, and her partner just shrugged back at her. Shay then chimed in, "Have you heard anything from your sister yet? Her court date was yesterday, wasn't it?"

Casey sighed, thinking about how not hearing from his sister yet probably meant bad news. "No, not yet, but for right now, it's probably for the best for Luke and Emma. Any news is going to be stressful for them."

"Well, at least for now, they're with you," Severide added as he went to sit at the long table.

"Yeah, but if Julia doesn't have to do time, then CPS might give her custody back," Casey explained, scooping some eggs onto his plate. "I just hope I hear something before they get out of school. I can tell all this uncertainty is getting to them."

He wasn't able to add anything further because that's when the first bell went off for the day, and everyone abandoned their breakfast. Putting down his plate Casey headed out to the truck and got ready. All he could do was do his job and hope for the best when Luke and Emma got out of school.

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Right away, Luke realized that this new high school was like his old one. It was only a month into the new school year, so it wasn't a massive change. In Indianapolis, he had just started his freshman year there at a new school. He hadn't been there long enough to make any serious friendships outside of the hockey team.

This high school was similar in size and curriculum as his old one, so most of his classes stayed the same. The secretary in the office had given him his class schedule and locker number. The locker was easy for him to find since most of the freshmen lockers were in the front of the school, but finding his first class was proving to be a bit trickier.

The guy who had open his locker two down from him must have noticed. "Hey, are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before."

Looking up, Luke looked over at the guy who had to be around his age. "Yeah, just started today."

"Cool," he said, shutting his locker and walking over to him. "I'm Mateo."

"Luke," he introduced himself while observing his new classmate. Mateo seemed friendly enough. He was a little taller than Luke and had dark, shaggy brown hair and dark eyes to match. He also had a light olive skin tone.

"Let me guess? That map of the school isn't making any sense to you," Mateo pointed to the map Luke had tucked in with the rest of his books.

Luke chuckled, "How'd you know?"

"They remodeled half the school last year and forgot to update the school map. So, none of the classrooms match up with the numbers on there," he explained.

Putting the map back into his locker and shutting it, Luke joked, "Wow, the first day, and they're already trying to set me up to fail."

"Don't worry, most of the teachers here are pretty cool. What's your first class?"

Luke glanced at his schedule. "World History with Mr. Anderson."

"Me too, just follow me." Mateo motioned for Luke to follow him.

They were still a little early to the class, so there were only a few kids there. Mateo brought him over to the far side of the classroom, where another guy and two girls sat.

"Hey guys, this is Luke. Today's his first day," Mateo introduced and then gestured to the others. "Luke, this is Tristen, Bree, and Callie."

The boy named Tristen spoke up first. "Welcome to Washington Hell School— I mean high school," he said, laughing.

The girl with dark brown, curly hair sitting across from him playfully punched him in the shoulder before lightly scolding, "Tristen! You're horrible." She then smiled at Luke, "Ignore him, he's harmless. I'm Bree, it's nice to meet you."

The girl with the dirty blonde hair sitting behind her smile too. "I'm Callie."

Feeling comfortable enough around them, Luke took the seat in front of Mateo across from the girls. They all seemed like close friends and were chill.

"So, Luke," Mateo began. "Why are you just starting school here now?"

Even though he knew this was an inevitable question that was going to be asked, Luke was still hesitant and carefully chose his words.

"I just moved here from Indianapolis," he started with that and waited to see where they all went with the information.

Bree then commented, "You moved here a month into the school year. Why?"

"My sister and I came here to live with our uncle while our mom sorts somethings out," he answered, knowing that next question that they would ask.

"What's your mom got to sort out that she needs to send you to your uncle's?" Callie asked before it all slowly dawned on them what Luke was really saying. Callie quickly caught her mistake and said, "Oh, sorry, you don't have to answer that."

Not wanting these new people to pity him, Luke explained, "It's alright, I actually prefer to be here with my Uncle. Plus, I'm originally from Chicago, so it's great to be back."

Being kind enough to change the subject, Bree asked, "Do you play any sports?"

"I've played hockey since I was seven. I even was on my last school's junior varsity team."

Tristen leaned forward over his desk. "Cool, me and Mateo play on the hockey team here. Our team is one of the top ten teams in Chicago."

"I guess it's too late for me to tryout, huh?" Luke said sadly. He was glad to hear that this school even had a team, but the season had already started. He wasn't even sure if he would still be in Chicago next season, either.

"Wait, didn't you guys have someone suspended from the team last week?" Bree interjected. "There should be an open spot."

"Yeah, our starting left-wing got suspended for selling Adoral on campus last week," Mateo explained. "He was an idiot and a hothead. We're better off without him. If you're interested, Coach is usually around campus by lunch. We can introduce you?"

"Really?" Luke said in disbelief. "That would be awesome."

Luke couldn't believe it. Not even an hour into his first day and everything he thought he'd have to live without for a while, friends, and hockey, were all coming together. As the class began, he could help but think about all the possibilities this move had given him—a chance to just be a typical teenager and not have to continually deal with a crazy mother.

"Luke," Bree whispered across to him. He looked over to see her smiling at him. "Here, you can borrow my notes to catch up. Mr. Anderson likes to go through information pretty quickly."

A little stunned by this beautiful girl's gesture, he took the notebook and smiled back at her.

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"All right class, can I have your attention?" Emma's new teacher, Mrs. Saito, announced as she entered the classroom with Emma. Emma had made sure to position herself behind the teacher, hoping to slip in the class mostly unnoticed, but her teacher had different plans. "Everyone, this is Emma Braddock. She will be joining our class."

Emma looked up at all the faces staring at her. They all seemed to blend as they studied their new classmate. Even though she was sure her hair covered her bruise and stitches, she self-consciously put her hand up to her head to make sure. Mrs. Saito had been made aware of her situation when the principal had introduced them and was hoping she'd wouldn't share it with the class.

"Now I know everyone here remembers how nervous they were on their first day and will help make Emma feel welcome," Mrs. Saito continued sweetly. "Emma, why don't you go sit by Destiny?" She pointed over to a dark-skinned girl with thick curly hair over by the window. "Destiny, could you make sure Emma has everything she needs?"

Hesitantly, Emma stepped away from the teacher and made her way over to the empty desk.

"Hey," the girl whispered excitedly as she sat down. "I'm Destiny."

Emma smiled, nervously glancing up at her. "Hi."

The two girls didn't really get to say much more than that to each other since the teacher had started class. When the class was dismissed for lunch, Emma quickly gathered her sack lunch and followed the other kids to the small cafeteria for the 5th grader only since they still weren't in rotation with the middle-school students.

Even though it wasn't the whole school, it was still a large group of kids she didn't know. She clutched her lunch close to her chest and went to an empty table with her head down. It was a table well out of the way of the other kids.

She pulled out her lunch and laughed a little at her Uncle's attempt to make a sack lunch, but she could tell he was trying.

"Hey, Emma, right?" Destiny dropped down into a seat at the table and a red-haired girl Emma also recognized from class.

Startling a little, Emma softly responded with, "Yes."

"Do you mind if we sit with you?"

Emma just shrugged and went back to picking at her turkey sandwich. She hoped that they would only eat their lunches and leave her alone. It wasn't that she didn't want to make friends, but with not knowing how long she would be here, she didn't want to make connections just to have to break them when they had to leave.

"I like your hair." Emma heard Destiny say but didn't realize she was speaking directly to her until she glanced up and saw the two girls staring at her.

"Thanks," she replied.

"Did you do the braid yourself?" the red-haired girl asked. "I've always wanted to learn how to do that kind of braid in my hair."

"Ah, no, someone else did," she said before taking a tentative bite of her sandwich.

"Your mom?" Destiny asked.

Without thinking her answer through, she said, "No, a friend of my uncle's did it."

The two girls looked at her, confused. It was Destiny who then asked, "A friend of your uncle's?"

Realizing what she had said, Emma panic and tried to come up with a cover story. When she couldn't think of anything, she thought about her brother's advice the night before. Wanting to sound like her situation wasn't a big deal, she confidently said, "Yeah, I live with my uncle, and a friend of his from work was over this morning and offered to do my hair for my first day of school."

It was the red-haired girl who asked the question she knew was coming. "You live with your uncle?"

"Yeah," Emma replied, sitting up straighter and looking the girl right in the eye. To her surprise, the reply she gave wasn't what she was expecting.

"Cool, I live with my grandparents," she said just as confidently and then introduced herself officially, "I'm Pippa, by the way. My real name is Phillipa, but only my grandparents are allowed to call me that."

Emma was so stunned she didn't respond right away. While her living arrangements were new to her, it was not an entirely unique situation. She wasn't the only kid in the world who couldn't live with her parents. Hearing this girl freely state that she lived with her grandparents relaxed Emma's nerves.

"Nice to meet you," Emma smiled at her. "So, what can you tell me about this school?"

"It's alright," Destiny explained. "Mrs. Saito is the best of the fifth-grade teachers, so you got lucky being placed in our class."

Pippa chimed in, "Yeah, the other two teachers for our grade are awful. One is super old and smells of mothballs. The other has this weirdly, dull voice that no one can follow."

The lunch hour continued with Destiny and Pippa telling her about the school and the other kids in their class. It was the first time since coming to Chicago that Emma forgot about everything and could just be a kid again.

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After school, Luke waited for his sister outside the elementary building. He didn't have to wait long before he saw her exit the building with two other girls to his surprise. Emma chatted with them for a minute before she spotted him and started towards him.

With a big smile on his face, he teased, "So, I'm guessing your first day wasn't as bad as you thought it was going to be?"

"Shut up," she said before giving him a playful shove, but he caught her arm and spun her towards him into a hug.

"Come on, you goofball." Luke let her go, and he started leading her towards the direction of the firehouse. He then grinned at her, "My day was good too, by the way." Emma just rolled her eyes.

It only was about a ten-minute walk to the firehouse. As they approached, they saw that the fire trucks were there, but not the ambo, figuring they were out on a call. Casey, though was waiting outside for them.

"Uncle Matt!" Emma called out as she let go of her brother's hand and race to him.

Relaxing the tension in his shoulders, Casey braced himself as his niece launch herself into his arms. Wrapping his arms around her, he asked, "How was school, sweetheart?"

"It wasn't so bad," she grinned shyly up at him.

"Glad to hear it," Casey said, letting her go and looked up at Luke. "What about you? How'd was it?"

"Well," Luke dragged out before smiling. "It was pretty okay all things considered. I am starving, though."

"Mills is starting dinner now, and I'm sure we can find you a snack somewhere." Casey led them inside and to the common room where everyone was gathered as usual. As they entered, his phone started ringing. Looking down, he saw that the area code was from Indiana and knew this was the call he had been waiting for.

Not wanting to tip of Luke and Emma to who was calling, he suggested, "Why don't you go see Mills, and he can find you a snack. I've got to take this."

Both kids didn't think anything of it because their Uncle was always getting calls for prospective construction jobs. Dropping their backpacks by the table and rushed over to Mills.

"Hello," Casey said, stepping into the hallway.

"Hey, Matt," spoke a tired voice that he recognized as his sister's.

"Jules," he sighed, and when she didn't respond, he said, "You had court today. What happened?"

"I plead guilty and got ninety days with one-year parole, and I have to complete a drug rehabilitation program or something while I'm in there. Which is ridiculous, but it's what the kid's social worker stipulated in the plea deal."

"Julia, you tested positive for oxy, and you had the pills in your apartment. Kyle had about three thousand dollars' worth there, which I'm guessing he was selling from how he reacted when Emma knocked over the bottles that night. Did it ever occur to you what would happen if Luke or Emma had gotten into any—"

"I get it! I don't need the lecture."

Growing more frustrated, Casey yelled back, "Well, apparently, you do because Luke and Emma are here with me and not there with you." Realizing that his voice was drawing attention from the common room, he stopped himself from continuing his rant. "Listen, this is not the time for this discussion. Just tell me what the judge and social worker said."

With a huff, Julia said, "There wasn't much else. I serve the time and do the program, and if I can keep my nose clean there, they will give me custody of Luke and Emma back. Well, they said unless another family member contests custody, then there will be a hearing. Which would ultimately be you, but I know you wouldn't do that to me."

Casey wasn't so sure of that yet. He knew temporary custody was different from permanent, but he would do it if he thought it was necessary. Julia would really have to prove to him that she was on a different path after being released, which included not allowing Kyle back into their lives.

But he did need to ask, "What about Kyle?"

"He took a plea deal as well. Seven months and he also has to do a drug program," she paused for a moment before continuing, "I talked to him briefly before going to court and told him the kids were with you. He was happy they were with family and not in a foster home."

Casey didn't even know how to respond. Kyle was doing what he did best…being manipulative and charming while giving the pretense that he cared.

She kept going, "He asked about Emma—"

"Oh, no, don't even go there. I don't want to hear it," Casey stopped her.

"He's still her father, and he feels horrible about what he did," she argued. "He wanted me to ask if he could call Emma or send her a letter once and a while just to keep in contact."

"No, "he responded instantly. "For right now, it's better for everyone that he doesn't have contact with Emma. Luke and her need to adjust to everything here first before anything else."

"Does that mean you don't want me to have contact with them either?" Her voice sounding more disappointed than angry.

Casey thought about it knowing he didn't have the strength to break his sister's heart. He also knew that he couldn't force the kids to have contact with their mother. The decision would have to be theirs.

"No, I'm not going to do that," Casey said. "But I am going to leave it up to them. I'll be sure to keep in contact either way."

Knowing that was the best deal she was going to get Julia agreed. "Listen, I got to go. I'll call you again when I get a chance." She paused and said, "Could you tell Luke and Emma that I love them and that I'm sorry."

Casey agreed before saying goodbye and hanging up. He knew he must have been making a face when Severide came around the corner and gave him a look.

"Everything alright?" Severide asked and noticed the phone in his hand. "Did you hear from your sister?"

He nodded. "She got three months. It's not a huge surprise, but still, now it's…"

"Real?" Severide finished. "How are you doing with all this?"

Casey looked up at his friend, surprised. No one had asked him yet how he was doing with the situation, and, to be honest, he hadn't let himself think about it. "I guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed."

Having known Casey for years, Severide knew it took a lot for him to admit that. Reaching out, Severide rested his hand on his shoulder. "You know you're not alone in this. All you have to do is ask, and I will be there. Any of us will be there."

Yes, it was something he knew, but it was reassuring to hear it all the same.

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The kids had settled into Casey's office after dinner to start their homework as they waited for their Aunt Christie to pick them up. Casey knew he needed to talk about the call he had with Julia with them before they left. Putting it off would only put more stress on the situation. He was still having mixed feelings about the situation. Of course, he was happy and relieved to have Luke and Emma with him where he knew they were safe, but looking down the road, if Julia did get custody back, any form of security that they had built would be once again uprooted. He knew that he could file for permanent custody of them now to avoid that. That would mean going against his sister and not having any hope of getting them back while in prison would destroy her.

His thoughts were disrupted when he heard Luke and Emma quietly chatting, and he stopped a moment to listen.

"I wonder how Mommy is doing?" Emma said.

"I don't know," Luke responded, crossing his arms. "I'm sure she's fine."

"What do you think will happen to her?"

Luke shrugged, "I've told you all I know, Emmy." He was still frustrated with their mother and was sick of being reminded of her.

Casey knocked lightly, announcing his presents. Both kids went quiet and looked up. "Hey, guys."

They both looked up at him like they had been caught doing something. Casey kneeled down next to the bed they were sitting on and rested his arms on the mattress. Luke could tell by the look on his Uncle's face that they were about to hear some bad news.

Taking in a settling breath, Casey began, "I got a call from your Mom a little bit ago. It looks like you'll be staying with me for a while."

"So, Mom's going to jail?" Emma asked. She still wasn't fully understanding the situation. She realized why her Dad was in trouble, but not her Mom. She was asleep on the couch when her Dad had pushed her.

Taking her hand in his Casey answered, "Yes, sweetheart."

As tears filled her eyes, she responded with, "And Dad too?"

Opening his mouth to answer, Casey was surprised when Luke's frustration finally reached its breaking point, and unfortunately, it was directed at his sister. "Why do you care?! They're lowlifes, and they deserve it for what they did."

Emma instantly broke down into tears at her brother's words. Casey quickly got up and picked her up before sitting back down on the bed with her in his lap. Holding her tightly, Casey looked at his nephew. "Luke, you have every right to be upset and frustrated with your Mom and Kyle, but your sister also has the right to feel whatever she wants to feel about the situation as well."

Looking at his sobbing sister in their Uncle's arms, Luke released some tension in his body. "Yeah," he said before looking to Emma. "I'm sorry, Em, I'm not angry with you."

Emma forced herself to take a deep breath. She was really tired of crying so much this past couple of days.

"Listen, guys," Casey continued. "Your mom is going to be in jail for the next three months, and after those three months, there will be another hearing to see if your mom gets custody back."

"So hypothetically, in three months, our lives could be uprooted again?" Luke asked.

Casey hadn't been sure that he would tell them about the possibility that he could fight for custody of them. He didn't want to give them false hope or that he didn't care about their Mom, but he couldn't deny them the truth when their lives were unpredictable.

"Not exactly," he started. "If she doesn't meet the terms of the court for her charges, I could fight her for custody if I needed too."

Emma and Luke looked at each other with a knowing look. Both wanted their Mom to get better, but she had been so sporadic their whole lives that they were sure they could trust her anymore. They like the structure that their Uncle Matt was trying to provide.

"That a little way down the road, so let's not worry about it until we have to," he said as he made eye contact with both. "For now, you just have to trust that I have your best interests at heart."

"We know that, Uncle Matt," Emma said and wrapped her arms around him.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled Luke into the hug with his other arm. To his surprise, Luke didn't resist.

The kids abandon the subject after that. Casey understood that it wasn't that they didn't have more questions, but that they still needed to process everything. He was going to give them all the time they needed.

**HELLO, My Loves!**

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	5. Chapter 5: That was too Easy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago Fire or any of its characters. Just the ones I've imagined!**

**Call Out**

**Chapter Five: That Was Too Easy**

Things settled down for Luke and Emma in the next couple of weeks. After a lot of trial and error of the first week, Casey got a reliable schedule for everyone. On days he was off shift, he would do the typical drop-off and pickup from school, followed by homework and family dinners. Casey didn't know how much longer the family dinner would last as Luke talked more and more about his new friends and hanging out with them. Emma spoke about her friends as well, but she had never been as outgoing as her brother.

Casey was hopeful, and the kids were adjusting. Julia hadn't made any attempts to contact them, and that was both a worry and a relief. For now, he was going to leave it the way it was.

Today was Casey's day first Friday night off since they got here, and Severide was coming over for a cookout and to watch the Bears game. When Luke and Emma visited previously, they often did this, so both talked about it all week.

Watching as the hordes of children rushed out of the elementary school, Casey kept watched for Emma. That was until he noticed a dark-haired, young woman approached him.

"Excuse me, are you Emma's uncle? Mr. Braddock?" she asked.

Wrinkling his brow at the unfortunate mix up, he corrected, "Matt Casey and, yes, I'm Emma's uncle."

"Oh, so sorry, that's right," the woman replied, embarrassed at her mistake. "You're her guardian, though, right?"

When he nodded, she finally introduced herself. "I'm Mrs. Saito, her teacher. I was hoping to speak with you about something."

Knowing his niece wasn't one for getting into trouble, Casey's mind raced about what this teacher needed to talk to him about. "What's this about?"

Mrs. Saito kindly smiled at him. "I'm aware that before starting here Emma was involved with something that required CPS to step in, but I don't know much more beyond that."

Casey opened his mouth to begin his defense, but the teacher stopped him.

"I'm not saying this to be noisy," she explained and then smiled. "No, it's clear that whatever happened, she is happy and well adjusted with you. In fact, her favorite topic to share with the class is about you and your job as a firefighter."

He couldn't help but smile at this. Unlike her brother, Emma had never shown much interest in his job, so this surprised him.

"Emma's a wonderful, bright student, but there's something I've been observing lately, and it has me concerned. Have you noticed anything about Emma's eating habits recently?"

Casey's forehead wrinkled at the question. Had he noticed anything about her eating habits? His mind raced as he thought about every meal he had with his niece, and nothing unusual stuck out. Then again, he wasn't sure what this teacher meant.

Seeing he didn't have a response, she continued, "Emma hasn't been eating while she's at school. At first, it just was that she wasn't finishing her lunch, but now she not eating it at all. From what I observed, she doesn't eat at all while she's here."

Knowing the Emma always had an empty lunch box when she got home, Casey now wondered what she was doing with the food.

"I have asked her about it, but she either says she has an upset stomach or that she isn't hungry. Beyond that, there's not much more I can do. I might even be overreacting, but knowing Emma's background, I would be remiss if I didn't inform you."

"No, thank you for letting me know." Casey smiled genuinely at her before feeling someone crash into his side and latch on to his legs. Looking down, he saw his niece grinning up at him.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Casey. Let me know if there is anything else you need." Mrs. Saito wrapped up the conversation before turning to Emma. "Have a nice weekend, Emma."

Emma smiled and nodded, but still held tight to Casey until her teacher walked away. Nervously, she asked, "Why were you talking to Mrs. Saito?"

Not wanting her to be suspicious, he shrugged. "She was just telling me what a great student you are, but you need to raise your hand more during class," he teased, knowing how Emma was never one to voluntarily volunteer for anything.

"No, she didn't," she rebuffed, playful pushing away from him.

Casey looked around to the high school students getting out across the street. "Any idea where your brother is?"

She shook her head, so they walked back to the truck to wait for him there. It was still nice enough for a late autumn day, so they waited outside the car. Casey kept an eye on Emma, watching her closely for any sign that something was off. He knew she was a master at hiding emotions she didn't want others to know about. Plus, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle the situation. This was all new territory to him. Was he suppose to confront her about what Mrs. Saito said? Or should he wait and observe for himself? It even could be that there wasn't a problem at all, or a rational explanation could present itself.

"How was lunch today?" Casey inwardly cringed at how unsubtle the question was.

Emma noticed it too and scrunched up her face. "It was fine. Why?"

"I'm just wondering. I'm going to the store tomorrow and wondered if there was anything you wanted me to get for your lunches. I know I'm still new to this school lunches deal, so if there's anything you prefer, you just let me know."

Emma's expression became guarded and looked down at the ground. "No, what you make is fine."

Noticing the change in his niece, Casey began to believe the teacher's concerns to be valid. "Cause you'd tell me if it wasn't, right?"

Emma didn't have a chance to answer as Luke appeared with another boy around his age.

"Uncle Matt," Luke seemed to be out of breath. "This is Mateo, my friend I've been telling you about. He was the one who was trying to get the hockey coach to give me a tryout for the team," Luke spoke in one long tangent.

Casey knew instantly who Mateo was. Luke talked about him and his friends group all the time. The guys in the friend group were on the school's hockey team and helped Luke get an open spot.

Reaching out, the young man shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Casey."

Luke, being excited about something, didn't give Casey a chance to reply. "Listen, the hockey coach finally agreed to let me do some drill with the team, but it has to be today. Can I go?"

"Sure, but what about all your gear?"

Mateo answered for him. "I've got the extra gear for him to wear today."

Seeing the look of joy in his nephew's eyes for the first time in a while, Casey couldn't say no. "Alright, bud. Just let me know when to I need to pick you up."

"My dad can take him home. He's the assistant trainer for the team, so it's no problem." Mateo quickly answered for his friend.

"Thank you, Uncle Matt," Luke beamed as he quickly gave Emma a quick kiss on the cheek, asking her to wish him luck and then added, "I should be home in time for dinner."

As the two teenagers ran back to the school, Casey called out, "Knock 'em dead!"

Turning back to Emma, Casey, she was smiling at her brother's good news. She commented, "Thank god for that. Maybe he'll finally start talking about something else other than hockey."

"We can only hope," he teased back before opening the door for her and helping into the truck, this whole parenting thing astounding him. In the span of two minutes, he's had to become concerned about one kid and excited for the other. And this was just the beginning..

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Creeping down the stairs, Emma stopped at the landing and looked to see if her Uncle was in the kitchen. She could tell something was on his mind, and she knew it had something to do with whatever Mrs. Saito said to him. It couldn't be a coincidence.

Now her mind was racing with what the conversation could have been about. If it had been nothing, Matt wouldn't have made a joke and teased her to cover it up. It wasn't that she didn't trust her Uncle, but she hadn't spent as many years with him as her brother had. There was still a lot she didn't know about him. Like, how would he react to upsetting news about her?

"What're you doing, kiddo?"

Her Uncle's sudden presence shook her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see him coming through the dining room towards her. She shrugged her shoulders both to answer him and relax her stiff posture.

"Want to help me start dinner?" he asked, hoping that having some time with just the two of them would allow her to open up to him more. Maybe then he could figure out what was going on with her.

Emma cocked her head. "You want my help?"

"Of course, I need to pass my grilling knowledge on to someone," he chuckled. "And we both know your brother is hopeless when it comes to cooking."

This got Emma to laugh as she remembered a time when Luke managed to burn pasta. "Alright, what are we going to make?"

Casey had her prep the potatoes in oil and seasoning before rolling them in foil to put on the grill while she got the steaks ready. Then something occurred to him.

"You like steak, right?"

"I guess so, I haven't had it in a long time. In fact, I think the last time was when we were here last." She explained, but then smiled slightly. "But, I remember liking it."

Casey thought back to the last time Luke and Emma stayed with him and was surprised she remembered it. She was probably about six at the time. It was the only time Julia had convinced Kyle to let the kids spend a week with him during the summer. The next time he saw them was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago.

His thoughts then went to what her teacher said to him. Maybe watching Emma's eating over the weekend would yield some answers to what was going on with her.

"Anyone home?" Severide's voice called out from the front of the house.

Casey called back that they were in the kitchen and told him to grab a beer from the fridge.

Knowing Emma was still hesitant around him, Severide kept his distance, but still tried to make conversation with her. "Are you your uncle's grilling assistant now?"

Emma nodded shyly and quickly looked back to rolling the potatoes in foil. The two men noticed her antics and smiled at each other. When Emma was younger, she had a crush on Severide, and it seems she still did.

After taking a sip of beer, Severide looked towards Luke's room. "Where's Luke? Usually, I can't even make it through the door before he's on top of me."

"He finally convinced the hockey coach to let him try out. He should back before we eat."

"No way, good for him." He then turned to Emma. "What about you? Do you play any sports?"

Emma finished rolling the last potato and responded, "No, I don't like anything that involves running or stuff like that."

"So, what do you like to do?"

Emma thought what to say. Her parents had never been supportive of her passions like they were with Luke's hockey aspirations. She didn't like to tell people about her music for that reason. "I guess I like to play the piano sometimes."

"Don't listen to her, Severide," Casey interjected. Emma scrunched up her face and looked wide-eyed at her Uncle. She relaxed when she saw he was smiling at her. "She doesn't just 'play the piano sometimes.' Emma has mastered just about every popular classical song on the piano. Luke's even told me that her last music teacher believed with practice, she could be a prodigy."

Severide's eyes went wide. "Awesome, can't say I know much about classical music, but maybe you can turn me on to it."

Emma smiled, happy that Severide seemed genuinely interested. The conversation continued smoothly from there. Emma liked being the center of her Uncle's and Severide's attentions.

As Casey put the steaks and potatoes on the grill, he continued to show Emma how to cook the food. It amazed Severide how easily Casey could fit into this new role. He knew his friend had always wanted kids. So much so, that he broke off his engagement to Hallie over it. Even though the situation wasn't ideal, he was happy for his friend. Luke and Emma had brought joy back into Casey's life.

Just before the food was ready, a voiced called out from the front of the house. "I'm back!" Soon followed by Luke coming out on to the back porch. He just smiled and greeted Severide, but didn't say anything about how the practice went.

"So?" Casey asked.

Luke cocked his head, acting oblivious to the question. "So, what?"

"How did it go?"

For a moment, Luke stayed silent before a smile slowly spread across his face. "I made the team."

"Congratulations!" Casey exclaimed and gave his nephew a hug.

Severide congratulated him as well and asked, "When's your first game?"

"Not for a couple weeks, and I'm not starting. I'm an alternate wing, but I get to play hockey again. That's all I care about."

When the food was done, the group went inside to eat and watch the Bears game. Emma made it about halfway through the game before falling asleep. At half-time, Luke offered to bring her upstairs while Casey cleaned up from dinner.

"Emma didn't eat much," Casey observed while scrapping off the plates into the trash before putting them in the dishwasher.

"Is that a problem?" Severide remarked, taking another beer out of the fridge.

"I don't know. Her teacher said something to me today about Emma, not eating at school."

Severide could see the worry on Casey's face. "Is that unusual for her?"

"I honestly don't know. Emma's harder to read then Luke. She doesn't let you know anything she doesn't want you to know. Julia was the same and looked how that turned out."

Severide could tell this was really bothering his friend. "Emma's only ten. She's a long way off from ending up like her mother. This might be normal."

"Not eating isn't normal."

"No, but there could be many different reasons why she's didn't dinner. Maybe she just didn't like it."

Putting the last plate into the dishwasher, Casey turned around to face Severide. "Since when do you know so much about raising kids?"

"Hey, I know a thing or two. Besides, I'm just saying it could be something, or it could be nothing. Give it time before jumping to any conclusions."

"You're right," Casey agreed. "I just can't help but worry. She's been through a lot."

Severide didn't have a response for him this time. Parenting wasn't something he had experience in, but he wished he could offer his friend more encouragement. The subject dropped as Luke came back into the kitchen and grabbed another soda, telling them the game was back on.

Casey wanted to start questioning Emma about what was going on. He couldn't pressure her like that. She had to learn to come to him with her problems. He just hoped that she figure it out before anything too serious happened.

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A couple of days later, Casey was on shift when he got a call from Luke's school. The day had already been stressful, with McLeod's new marching orders descending on the firehouse. When the school's call came in, it was a miracle that Boden let him leave shift for a half hour.

"Mr. Casey? I'm Principal Nunez," A middle-aged woman approached him as he entered to school's offices. "Thank you for coming in. I understand you were on shift, but we wouldn't have called if it wasn't pressing."

"What's this about?" They had been vague on the phone, and he was confused. Luke had never been a kid to cause trouble.

"Luke's waiting in my office. Let's continue this discussion in there."

Casey made eye contact with his nephew as he entered the office, but Luke quickly looked back down at his hands. Frowning at his response, he sat down in the chair next to him and looked at the Principal.

"Earlier this afternoon," Principal Nunez began. "Luke and another boy got into a fight in the locker rooms. The coaches had to break them up. Its been made clear that Luke was the one who initiated the fight physically."

Casey shot a disappointed look at Luke, who was still avoiding eye contact. "Is this true?"

Luke nodded.

"Now, they are both being quiet as to what happened before the fight started, but our school has a zero-tolerance fighting policy. Luke's case though, is unique. I am aware from his file with DCFS that there has been abuse in the past. Which is why he is in your custody."

Worried, Casey tried to interject in his nephew's defense, but she held up her hand. "Please, let me finish. Since Luke has been here, none of his teachers or coaches have reported any concerning behaviors, so I am willing to be lenient. He will be sent home for the remainder of today, but not be suspended. He is welcomed to come back tomorrow as long as his attitude has changed."

Casey let out a relieved breath. "Understood, thank you."

Principal Nunez then turned to Luke. "This will be the only time you'll get a pass, Luke. I want you to do well here. I hear you've just got a spot on the school's hockey team, which is amazing. Coach Welch wouldn't have let you on the team if he didn't think your skills matched those of our nationally ranked team. I would hate to see you let something get in the way of that. You are free to go."

The young man sighed and nodded before standing up with his Uncle. Finally, finding the courage to look up at Casey, all he saw was disappointment and frustration in his eyes.

As they walked back out to Casey's truck, Luke tried to say, "Uncle Matt—"

But Casey stopped him. "I don't want to hear it. Get in the truck."

The ride back to the firehouse was silent. Luke kept his gaze out the window as he avoided his Uncle's angry glances. He knew he had screwed up, but he wished Matt would hear him out before blowing up at him.

Once they had parked, Casey turned off the truck and sighed before starting, "I'm sorry about how I reacted at the school, but you have to give me an explanation here, Luke. You have never been one for fighting, especially after everything that's happened with Kyle and your mom."

Luke stare out the window, but he wasn't looking at anything. He was trying to stop the tears in his eyes. His throat closed, keeping him from responding.

Putting his arm on the bench seat behind Luke, Casey leaned in closer. "Come on, bud, you got to give me something. I'm trying to understand."

"He called me a bastard."

Luke had spoken so quietly that Casey wasn't sure if he heard him right. "What was that?"

Frustrated, he let some of the tears go as he turned to look at his Uncle. "He called me a bastard."

This confession confused Casey more. While 'bastard' wasn't something he liked his nephew being called, it wasn't the worse thing a fourteen-year-old could come up with. There had to be more to the story.

"Alright, I'm sorry to hear that, but you got to give me more here cause I'm still confused."

Luke took in a shaky breath, but still choked out. "That's what Kyle calls me cause, you know… I don't have a father."

As the young man broke down, Casey instantly had his arms around him. This news was disturbing to him. He knew Kyle could be mean, but this was deeply sadistic. Casey let Luke cry until he was ready to talk. He knew he had been holding in a lot of anger and frustration since moving here and was long overdue for a release.

Finally, taking in a deep breath, Luke sat up and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket. "Ethan is the guy whose spot on got on the team. He confronted me about it because, I guess, he was supposed to get his spot back after his suspension. He got all in my face. Which was fine, but then he called me a bastard for taking his spot, but, I don't know, all I heard was Kyle's voice."

Gently grabbing the back of his nephew's neck, Casey spoke, "Listen to me, Kyle is small and pathetic. He has to put others down to make himself feel better. Nothing, I repeat nothing, he said could be further from the truth." He paused for a moment to make eye contact with Luke. "You are so loved by me, Emma, your family, and by those who really matter. The term 'bastard' doesn't apply to anyone who is loved as much as you are."

Luke stared back at him for a moment taking in what his Uncle was saying. No one had ever said anything like that before to him. He couldn't think of anything to say except, "Please, don't make me go back to him."

The desperateness in his voice made Casey once again pull his nephew into a tight hug. "No matter what happens, I promise he will never be apart of your life again. Okay?"

Luke seemed to take comfort in his Uncle's promise. "Okay. Thank you, Uncle Matt."

The two got out of the truck and made their way into the firehouse. Kelly saw them, and Luke knew he wasn't in the clear yet. Since Casey got the school's call while on shift, he assumed everyone knew about the fight.

"Luke, come with me, buddy. I want to talk to you."

Glancing at his Uncle, who nodded to him to go with Severide, Luke followed him, passed everyone, and into the locker rooms.

Motioning for him to sit down, Severide stayed standing. "Listen, I not going to lecture you about not fighting. I think your Uncle's got that covered. I just wanted to let you know if you ever need to blow off some steam, you can come to me."

Luke cocked his head at him. "Alright, but why?"

Severide sat down on the bench across from him. "Cause I remember what it's like to be a fourteen-year-old guy who's got pent up anger at someone. For me, it was my dad, so I began working out. It doesn't completely stop the anger, but it helps to direct it away from those around you."

Luke nodded. Severide was right. He still had a lot of anger. Today it came out at a rude classmate, but it could have easily happened with his Uncle or worse, his sister. Emma had seen enough anger in her life. "Okay, thanks, Kelly."

"Anytime, buddy."

Hesitantly, Luke asked, "Mind if we start now?"

Not surprised, Severide agreed and had Luke following him to the small gym the firehouse had.

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Since Luke sent home early, Emma had to walk the couple blocks to the firehouse on her own. This didn't bother her so much as the stomachache she had had since lunch. Casey was starting to suspicious of her not eating, and knew she needed to make it look like she was eating just a little. She ate half of her sandwich at lunch, but since then, her stomach had been upset. All she wanted to do was lay down and sleep.

Dawson and Shay were doing inventory in the ambo and were the first to see her. They both could tell something was wrong by the look on her face.

"Hey, Emma," Dawson greeted. "Everything alright?"

Emma forced a smile on to her face. "Yeah, everything's great."

"Are you sure?" Shay replied. "Your face says otherwise."

"My stomach is a little upset, that's all." Emma relented, hoping they would drop the subject.

Hopping out, Gabby pulled a small package of antacid pills out of one of their jump bag. "Here, this should help. Let's go get some water from the kitchen for you to take with it."

Panicked, Emma tried to refuse the medicine. "No, really, it's fine."

But Dawson didn't buy it as she led her towards the common area of the firehouse. Casey sat doing paperwork at the table because Luke was in his office, doing his homework, and didn't want to distract him. He got up, though, when he saw the strained look on Emma's face.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Before Emma could respond, Dawson spoke, "She says she has an upset stomach."

"It's no big deal. It really isn't that bad," Emma muttered, but Casey didn't buy it and gave her a stern look.

"Well, it won't hurt to take something for it, and it's better than not feeling good," Gabby said.d

Before Emma could reply, though, the bell went off, and the voice came over the speaker.

_***Ambulance 61—Person in distress 1610 Kedzie Street_

Dawson gave Casey an apologetic look and handed the medicine over to him. "Have her take these and drink some water. If it doesn't help, I'll check her out when we get back."

Casey thanked her and turned back to his niece. "Come on." He said, leading her over to the kitchen area. Grabbing bottled water out of the fridge, he handed her the pills and water.

She looked down at the pills in her hand. "I don't like taking pills."

"It's not that bad, and it'll help you feel better," Casey tried reasoned, but she just shook her head. He took in a deep breath to calm himself to her stubbornness. He was sure her stomach was upset because she had eaten her lunch after not eating in a while. It worried him more than she was hiding this from him than not eating. "Emma,-"

But he was cut off by the Chief. "Casey, McLeod wants to talk with us in my office."

Mills, who was starting dinner in the kitchen, had witnessed the disagreement. He saw his Lieutenant's Casey look between Emma and Chief, torn as to what to do, so he spoke up. "I got this, Lieutenant." Mills nodded towards Emma.

Casey gave him a grateful look. Before leaving, he turned back to his niece. "I'll be right back."

Wandering into the kitchen, Emma looked down at her closed fist that held the pills and contemplated taking them.

Noticing her hesitation, Mills looked away from the tomato he was chopping and gave her his full attention. "I don't like taking pills either. Something about it makes me gag. Want to know my trick?"

Emma humored him and nodded.

"If you put the water in your mouth first and then the pill, you feel it when you swallow. Give it a try."

Well, if it got everyone off her back. Emma took a gulp of water, then put the pill in her mouth, and swallowed. The tablet went down, no problem.

"See? Nothing to it," Mills smiled at her but noticed that she still looked upset. "Is there something else bothering you?"

Emma looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. She hadn't come across many men in her life who looked like this. Ones that didn't yell at everything or walk around like they're ready to fight someone. They all seemed to care. Maybe, just maybe…

She wanted so badly to say what was bothering her but instead shook her head.

Mills didn't want to push her. "Do you wanna help me get dinner ready?"

Not being able to think of a better option, she agreed. Mills brought over a chair from the table for her to stand on as he instructed her to take the stems off the green bean and put them in the strainer so he could wash them before putting them in the oven.

"So, do you cook for everyone every shift?" Emma spoke quietly.

This took Mills of guard because Emma wasn't one to initiate conversation from the short time he had known her. "Ah, yeah, comes with the territory when you're a candidate, but I don't mind. My family also owns a restaurant, so being behind the grill is like second nature to me. Do you have a favorite food? I'd be happy to make it one night while you're here."

Emma shook her head.

"Come on, everyone has a favorite food. What was your favorite thing your mom made for you?"

"My parents never cooked for us."

Stopping what he was doing, Mills looked worriedly over at her. "Never? Did Luke?"

Again, Emma shook her head.

"Then how did you eat?" Mills concerningly asked. He knew there could be many different explanations, but something felt off.

Nervously, Emma started to pick at the skin of the green bean in her hand. "The lunches at school were free to use. Luke and I would most times try to sneak some extra and take it home."

Then something occurred to him. "Was lunch the only meal you two got?"

"Yeah," she said, a little confused by the question.

Suddenly, the stomachache the girl was having made sense. She wasn't eating enough before, and now when she did eat, it was upsetting her stomach because it wasn't used to it. Poor kid couldn't catch a break.

Not wanting to draw attention to it, he shifted the subject. "Well, we've just going to have to figure out what your favorite food is together. How's that sound?" He smiled at her.

She smiled back, shyly. She liked the way he smiled at her.

She helped him finish the meal and set it out for everyone as they all filed in for dinner. When they sat down, Mills made sure she got a little of everything, but in small portions.

It bothered Mills what Emma had revealed to him. When the Lieutenant came back into the common room, he pulled him aside.

"There's something you need to know, Lieutenant," he said, crossing his arm and looked over Casey's shoulder to make sure Emma wasn't watching them. "It's about Emma."

Casey's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"There's a reason Emma hasn't been eating." From there, Mills explained everything she had said.

Casey's heart dropped into his stomach at each revelation Mills told him.

CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO

Later that night, Casey sat in his office, trying to finish some paperwork, but the events of the day weighed heavily on his mind. Christie had picked up Luke and Emma for the night a couple hours ago, and he hoped they were doing alright. They both seemed better when they left, but it bothered him that he couldn't be with them tonight after all that had happened today.

His eyes had been opened to a lot in the past couple of hours. Obviously, he knew Julia and Kyle had neglected them, but he couldn't have imagined Julia allowing this. This was abuse. It seemed like the more he learned about what went on in Indianapolis, the more he had to think about keeping custody of the kids no matter what Julia wants. Just thinking about it was giving him a headache at the moment.

There was a light knock on his door, breaking him from his spiraling thoughts. Looking up, he saw Gabby give him a slight smile. "Hey, you look like somethings bothering you with that scowl on your face. Want to talk about it?"

Setting down his pen, he turned fully to Gabby, "I thought I knew everything that Kyle and Julia put those kids through, but the longer they're here…, the more I'm learning about what actually was going on."

Gabby could see that Casey was blaming himself. "You know, you are not responsible for what their parents did. You couldn't have known. They lived far away and kept little contact. Up until a few weeks ago, your sister had you believing everything was fine."

"I know." He tried to ease the throbbing in his head with the palm of his hand. Casey was aware that Julia had clearly been lying to him for a while now, and it hurt him on a level that he couldn't convey to Gabby.

Julia was the sister he had always been closest to growing up. They were closer in age and personalities then they were with Christie. Even when Julia started getting into trouble, she still would tell him the truth, and he would always help her. It was no different when she got pregnant at 17, and Luke's father left her. He supported his sister through everything she had gone through, and that's why he felt she had deeply betrayed him.

"I just feel stuck between being a brother and an uncle," Casey explained. "The brother side of me wants to help Julia, but, with everything that I've learned, Luke and Emma have to come first."

Gabby's heart ached for her friend. She thought about what she would do if it was her and Antonio in this situation. She wasn't sure she could break his heart by taking his kids away from him. "So, what are you going to do? Are you going to take permanent custody of Luke and Emma?"

With a sigh, he let go of all the guilt weighing down on him and confidently said, "Julia had her chance to ask me for help, but she chose Kyle instead. I'm not going to save her from this one. Those kids are asking me for help now, and that's what I'm going to do. No matter what."

**Check out my Weebly page for my author's note to this chapter along with a sneak peak of the next chapter, excusive story trivia, and more!**

**Until next time, my Loves….**


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